Younger Than Yesterday
by dark-prisim
Summary: Yesterday's the past, tomorrow's the future, but today is a gift. That's why it's called the present. But what happens when the son and daughter of Peter and Gamora meddle with a particular Infinity Stone?
1. Chapter One

**This is the sequel to **_**Dangerous Love**_ **but you do not have to read that to understand what is going on here because I will explain everything. I will be posting 1-2 times a week depending on how I feel and the chapters will be longer and more detailed compared to the last story. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

><p><em><span>Prologue<span>_

The view was of a dark blanket, contrasting with blacks and yellows. There are planets which dot the blanket in an intricate pattern. Across the deep ebony feathers of darkness, there sparkled the mysterious material of stars. Many were of different sizes and shapes, swirling, twisting, and churning amongst themselves in an enormous war that was too slow and much too big for the mind to contemplate. The twinkling of the stars were enchanting; they blinked and flickered away, and yet always returned like rogues hiding away in the shadows. Yet, no matter what planet, what galaxy, or what universe any small creature may be on, those fiery lights streaking across the skies in diffusing blue streaks will always be there.

"This is our galaxy, Alenna." Gamora whispers, slowly kneeling down to her young daughter and gesturing to the fascinating sky above them from the Milano's exterior deck. Alenna responded by looking up to her mother with confusion and an adorable scrunched up nose.

"Those are our stars." Gamora went on and pointed up to the shining lights amongst the darkness, then looked back to her child with a soft smile.

A young boy, the son of Gamora peeked from behind the wall shyly. He appeared to be frightened by the darkened sky and its wondrous creations. Gamora, being a warrior and an assassin, instantly noticed him and grinned. "Cassius." Gamora gestured for him to come closer. "Why are you afraid?"

"The dark." Cassius answered in a whisper, but didn't hesitate to move from his half hidden spot. Cassius's sister giggled behind her tiny hand at his petty fear.

Gamora looked back up to the sky. "I like the dark. Without it, we'd never see the beautiful stars." She explains. "And you are only afraid, because the dark is the unknown."

"What does that mean, mommy?" he asks timidly, and gradually begins to walk away from the wall. His eyes were wide with wonder and fascination.

"It means we need to explore it all." She replies and places her arm around her two short children. The two children looked at each other with baffled grins, giggling silently, before looking up to the sky with their mother.

"And what are my three monsters up to this time?" Peter asks, sneaking up behind them with a playful smirk. The two children scream in surprise and begin to laugh hysterically as their father reaches down and begins to tickle them.

"Daddy, stop!" Alenna squeals on the floor, but cannot put an end to her constant laughter.

Peter laughs and stops tickling them, leaving them to gasp for air on the floor with an after effect of quiet giggles. Peter rises to his feet, turning to his wife who has a pointed look but wasn't able to hide her amused smile.

"I was lecturing them, Peter." Gamora says sternly and places her hands on her hips.

"Are you ticklish?" He asks and tilts his head questionably, ignoring her words completely.

"Don't even think about it." she raises her eyebrows and takes a cautious step back.

Peter begins ticking her small waist and stomach and she begins laughing. She quickly smacks Peter's hands away. "Don't." she frowns and points a finger towards him. He rolls his eyes and smirks lightly, pulling her body closer to his. A gentle and warming kiss lingers at her supple lips and the only thing Gamora can do is forgive him.

"Ew!" Alenna cries out with a grimace, interrupting their little moment. She still was lying on the cold floor with Cassius by her side.

Peter chuckles, and Gamora just sighs at him and kneels back down to her children. Peter follows her and tenderly helps his son and daughter up to their feet.

"Your mother is right. The galaxy is full of adventures and new people." He says and looks over to Gamora with a loving grin. He wraps an arm around his children and wife, "We are a family, no matter what happens."

"We are family." Cassius repeats quietly.

Gamora smiles and presses her cheek close to Cassius's as her eyes arise upwards. "Our time is precious and I want you to savour every moment with each other." Gamora says.

Alenna hesitantly reaches down and grabs her brother's hand in a messy fumble. They look at each other blankly.

"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst." Gamora says quietly. "Will you protect me from the dark, mommy?" Cassius asks lightly. "Of course I will. We will. Daddy, Uncle Rocket, Groot, Drax." Gamora answers and can't help but smile.

Rocket, Groot and Drax observe the family from inside the ship. "Never thought I'd say this, but they're a pretty good family." Rocket mumbles with a soft smile.

"I'm Groot." Groot and Drax stare at Rocket with a slightly shocked expression at his sudden softness.

"Shut up, Groot." Rocket sighs, and continues to watch the family huddle and point to stars in the sky.

* * *

><p><em>Alenna's POV – Nine years later<em>

When I wake up, the other side of my bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking the warmth of my one night stand but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. He must have feared dealing with my parents and left during the night. Of course he did. My parents are scary.

I prop myself on one elbow and tug the warm covers over my bare skin. There's enough light in my bedroom to notice that he had left his jacket sprawled on the floor. I sigh and pull on my regular skin tight black bodysuit, a coat, boots, and tuck the garment of clothing he left behind under my bed. What was his name again? Jake? Jack? I couldn't even remember.

The sounds of familiar and loud voices arise from behind my steel door, and I respond with a groan but continue to press the button to activate the door anyway.

I absolutely love my family but my brother, Cassius, can be an expectation. We are twins, fraternal. He looks like my father; radiant olive skin, bright blue hooded eyes, dark sandy hair and muscular build. While I, on the other hand, was blessed with the good looks of my mother; malachite green skin, large brown eyes, lighter brown hair and a lithe body figure.

We may be twins but we definitely did not look like each other. Most could say that we weren't even related, and not only because of our appearances. I am more bound to Rocket's mechanics and physical combat, while Cassius just reads. But everyone loves him because he can do magic, and I can't. He is smart and mature and everyone treats him like the older sibling although I'm the oldest! By like half a minute, but whatever.

And the thing is, is we're always fighting.

My thick leather boots make heavy thuds alarming them of my presence as I walk down the steel hallway, tearing my fingers through my knotted hair trying to make myself at least look somewhat presentable. It's not like that I cared about my appearance or anything. I just didn't want to deal with mom nagging me about this guy. I'm pretty sure his name was Jack. Or Jeremiah…

Rocket, Drax and Cassius were the only members who filled the room. Thank goodness my mother wasn't in sight. She would know what's up the minute she glanced at my messy bed hair and guilty face.

"Good morning Alenna." Drax smiled up at me as he continued to sharpen his already freakishly sharp daggers. I smiled lightly in return and I noticed Rocket – who didn't notice me – and was sorting through towers of steel boxes and drawers filled with foreign gadgets and metallic bits.

"Sup Rocket." I nod, and he pauses for a short second to look up and nod back before returning to his mechanics.

Drax, Rocket and Groot helped my parents raise me and Cassius on the Milano ever since we were young. They were like my uncles in a way. Drax was the knowing one, like a strange fatherly figure when Peter wasn't around to do his job. Rocket taught me everything I know about logistics mechanisms, and pranking Cassius when he fell asleep over his desk. And as for Groot, he grew very protective of me and Cassius in the public. It was kind of cute actually, despite it being slightly embarrassing.

I haven't been told how everyone met and how they got their name of 'The Guardians of the Galaxy'. I tried asking my dad about the first time they met but he kind of brushed it off and said that he forgot, although I knew he was lying. How could you possibly forget about meeting the very people you live with? I wondered about all the different scenarios in my head but nothing fit right.

"What are you doing here? Did someone leave your cage open?" Cassius, my asshole of a twin brother asks, with his eyes glued to some form of a book. It's always the same sort of way he acknowledges me. And I guess you could say I was used to it after sixteen long years.

"Good morning to you too, Cassius." I singsong, and begin to skip towards the table, courageous enough to add an enthusiastic twirl on the way. I just choose to ignore his sarcastic comments.

"Ooh, who got in your pants last night?" he smirks, and props his feet up against the table. Suddenly the book in his hands becomes boring evident by the way he promptly snaps it shut in a matter of seconds.

Rocket's ears perk up instantly at Cassius's words, and he stops for brief moment before he continues to sort through his junk. I could tell he was now listening. Drax just looks generally confused. How did Cassius find out? All I did was, say that I was going down to Starlin's Bar for the night, and then I sneaked back in late with a super gorgeous guy while everyone was asleep. At least I had thought they were all asleep. He was probably awake reading his stupid books and figured out what was going on.

"No one." I tense my jaw, and pretend to look generally confused. It obviously didn't work. Cassius raises his eyebrows and chuckles, "You're going to be in so much trouble" he sneers.

"Shut up Cassius." I growl through gritted teeth and glance to Rocket and Drax who grew strangely silent. Great, all I need is for the both of them to know about it. By the end of the day, I assure you, my mother would find out one way or another.

"You wouldn't understand anyway," I sigh and press down on one of the red colored buttons for a tall glass of water. The water appears from inside the table, from a distinctive opening. I absently take the glass and the opening disappears back into the table. "It's not like you have a thousand girls lining up for you anyway." I walk around to lean on his side of the table with a smirk, and take a slow sip of my water.

"If you're going to be a smartass, first you have to be smart. Otherwise you're just an ass." Cassius points out and pushes his legs off the edge of the steel table and gets up from his chair. Cassius always bugged me about me not being exactly the smartest out of the both of us. Just because is a super genius, and I was…somewhere below that.

Rocket and Drax raise their heads and they both stare for a moment, as if they want to say something but they're not sure what. They notice me watching and quickly clear their throats before returning to their activities.

"What's for breakfast?" I dismiss the topic and sniff, swirling the water in my glass around in circles.

"It's two o'clock." Cassius answers with a frown, gesturing to the brightened blue sky outside the glass panels. "Don't change topic. Mom is going to kill you, you know that right?" he laughs slightly with amusement. He thinks this is funny. Bastard.

As I open my mouth to speak, somebody else already does.

"I already know what's going on, Cassius." Mom walks out from a hallway with a stern look in her eyes. I curse silently under my breath and set my glass of water down, as I refuse to meet her eyes.

"Hey, mom." I muster the courage to look up and even smile, although the smile comes off slightly as a grimace.

She frowns and tilts her head at me, "You told me that you were going down to Starlin's Bar with a few friends." I bite down on my lip nervously.

"She doesn't have friends." Cassius comments quickly and chuckles. Mom shoots him a dangerous look then he instantly goes quiet.

"About that," I wring my hands anxiously, and try to conjure some lie up in my head that would cover everything but I simply went blank. Mom just sighs and presses a hand to her forehead then looks back up at me, "Wait until your father hears about this."

"Uh oh." Cassius and I say together. Cassius looked almost entertained about what was going on.

Mom looks across to Drax and Rocket, "Did you two know about this?" she asks slowly.

Drax looks to Rocket, and Rocket turns his back to Gamora to pick up a sphere silver bomb shaped object and stuff it in one of his boxes. "About what?" Rocket asks mindlessly. He knew what was going on, but he just didn't want to get involved _and_ he might also be covering for me.

"Don't worry." My mother mumbles then looks back to me with a small frown, "You are in trouble. You're not going out for the rest of this month." She says and turns to walk away.

"What!" I cry out and gape at her back. No going out for the rest of this month? That's still, like, a full month! And it also meant no seeing my friends, my (many, many) boyfriend(s), drinking, dancing. No way!

She turns around to me, "We're going to Xander today. Rocket has new machinery and technology plans for Nova. We will be meeting with your grandparents." Her voice sounds stiff and stern. "By the way, you're grounded."

* * *

><p>As I stepped out of the door, a blast of steaming hot Xanderian air hit my face. I fanned myself with my hand, even if it didn't help much. I felt the beads of sweat form on my hot neck as I walked out of the ship with everyone else and the sun beat down harshly at us. The heat rained down on us like the breath of Hel. I huffed as I squinted past the heatwaves. That water fountain looks totally appealing right now.<p>

"Hot." I stated simply, and Drax agreed with a nod.

"Drax and I will go meet Nova with the plans. I'll be meeting Meredith and Adam there." Dad said as he closed the Milano up.

My Dad had only met his parents recently in his life, a few months before I was born. He was raised only by his mother back on Terra, without his father who hadn't even bothered to show up when he was born. Later in life, he discovered that his mother was slowly dying inside from a serious Terran disease. Shortly after her death, he was abducted by Yondu and the Ravagers and that's how he basically got here.

A few years later he met Gamora, Rocket, Groot and Drax. He didn't go in to too much detail about that. Then he abruptly met his mother who he had thought died back on Terra all those years ago, but she said the ruse was only to protect him, herself and the Infinity Stone of Time given as a gift by his father. The Infinity Stone helped her live and stay young. And then Dad met his father, who he said that he didn't like very much. His name is Adam Warlock, and Dad hated him for what he had done to his mother. Just leave her on Terra like that as a prey to this bad dude named Thanos.

Adam taught Dad and even Cassius magic and different types of sorcery. They were the ones who inherited the proper genes for that sort of stuff. I had Mom's genes, sigh.

Dad met my gaze and I began to chew the inside of my cheek and slowly look to the floor with guilt about what had happened earlier. Mom had told him already. He sighed and looked away from me. Later on, he was going to have this little 'talk' with me. Thanks Mom.

"The rest of you should go wait over there." He pointed towards the water fall that I had been staring at beforehand.

"Hey, what about me?" Rocket frowns and looks up to Dad.

"You babysit Groot." Dad responded with an enthusiastic grin.

"I'm Groot?"

"What?!" Rocket growled as if leaving him with us would be the worst thing ever. I mean, come to think of it, it actually would be the worst thing. We are loud, embarrassing, different – the kind to stand out in a messy crowd like this even if we weren't exactly 'famous'. Rocket mumbled some things under his breath as he walked with us away from Dad and Drax, and towards the water fountain.

"Look at the bright side!" Cassius said down to Rocket, with a large smile. "You get to spend some good old quality time with us!"

"Sarcasm is going to get you nowhere, Cassius." Rocket grumbled lowly as we finally reached the water fountain. Clear water spurted from every direction, creating an umbrella-like effect. The spurts fell back in to the pool of water and ready to be taken back up through the pipes.

Mom and I sat at the edge of the water fountain while the others stood up, as we started to wait. Groups of busy people walking past gave us funny looks, staring at Groot then getting an eyeful of Rocket. And then my mother. I sighed, under the boiling heat that I had almost forgotten about with all these thoughts running through my head.

Everything will be just fine.

* * *

><p><strong>What do you think of Alenna and Cassius? Who is the better twin? Is this starting off okay? Trust me; it will get better in the next chapters. This chapter was just to explain what is happening. Thanks for reading! Tell me what you think below :)<strong>

**- Dark-Prisim**


	2. Chapter Two

_Cassius's POV_

Associations of Xanderians trotted past us in a brisk haste, some slowly their awfully fast pace to stare at us wide eyed and mouth agape. What exactly was so diverse about us that made them stop like that? We were a little different, yes, but we're not _that_ amazing.

Apparently my mother and father were famous for something. I don't exactly know what. They don't like to talk about it for some suspicious reason. I think they're hiding something.

I sink to the space next to Mom and dip my hand in the surprisingly cold water fountain, swishing my hand around mindlessly as we wait in this scorching heat. We could've just waited in the Milano, where it was cooler and in our private comfort, but apparently that wasn't an option. Although last time when we all waited in the Milano, someone thought it was a good idea to test drive the ship. I'll give you a hint; her name begins with an A and ends with lenna. After that, Dad couldn't trust us to wait in the ship for a petty five minutes.

"Groot, that is disgusting!" Rocket scolds, looking up at Groot who seemed to immensely enjoy and savour the spurting flavour of fountain water. Groot takes a step away from the fountain and looks at Rocket with a clueless expression, shaking his head slightly. "How many times do I have to tell you? Do you know what is in that stuff?" Rocket goes on frantically. Some water fountains have been contaminated with pathogens such as coliform bacteria, but I don't think such sicknesses can affect Groot. I mean, he's an eight foot tall walking tree.

The longer we wait out here, the higher the temperature rises. And the more bored I get, just sitting here.

A smirk crawls across to my lips as I look down into the water and then up to Alenna. I cup my hands with the fountain water and splash it up on her back. She screams piercingly as the cold water hits her back and jumps up from her seat in a mad frenzy. This causes a lot more people to stare. "_Cassius!_" she seethes, conjuring a deadly glare towards me and presses a hand to the back of her neck, which was completely and utterly soaked with the fountain water. Rocket begins to laugh. Mom is in between me and Alenna, and turns to look at me with a weary look.

"Cassius, stop bothering your sister." Mom says then her gaze flickers towards Rocket, who continued to laugh.

"Mom, it's hot. I was simply helping my dearest, and sweetest, oh-so innocent sister." I smile brightly at Mom as I explain. Her gaze lingers on me longer than it should and she gives in with a sigh, shaking her head away from me.

"Now I'm going to need new clothes!" Alenna says and turns to Mom desperately, and slaps her hands down at her sides in defeat. "I can't walk around like…like, this!" she groans, gesturing to her slightly damp clothing. I roll my eyes. Dramatic.

"Alenna, do you hear yourself? It's water." Mom arches a brow. "And look how hot it is, it'll dry in a matter of seconds."

"No, you don't understand! The water is gross! Even Rocket said." Alenna pleaded. "_Plus_, I reaaally need a dress." She continues. Alenna doesn't even wear dresses.

"Why don't you slip in to something more comfortable? A coma, perhaps?" I mutter under my breath, but she seems to hear me and sends over another lethal glare.

Mom hums a little, observing Alenna carefully who had a somewhat hopeful look in her eyes. Wait a second, I thought she was grounded? After a few moments of consideration, Mom responds with a sigh but nods her head. "Fine." Alenna gasps and smiles excitedly, "Thanks, mom!" she says and wraps her in to an extremely tight hug.

"Okay!" Mom shouts, swatting Alenna's arm off of her with a tiny smile. "And I'm only buying you clothes because you do actually need them. But remember, you're grounded." She tells her and rises gracefully to her feet. She looks to Rocket and Groot, and then looks back us. "We'll be back in a few minutes. Don't go anywhere. Don't do anything stupid." Her eyes flick between Alenna and me, then her gaze remains on Alenna cautiously before she quips around and begins to walk in the other direction.

"We?!" Rocket shouts. Rocket and Groot share a puzzled look before shrugging and catching up with Mom. "What's the heck is the point of us going? Do you know anything about dresses, Groot?" I hear Rocket ask Groot. Groot grunts and shakes his head as they both continue to walk behind my mother. I persist to watch them, waiting until their vibrant figures vanish within the distant crowds.

I turn back around and lean against a stone sculpture constructed closely within the water fountain. "The only reason you're getting those clothes, is because of me. You're welcome." I point out to my idiotic sister. She responds with an illogical, "Shut up, Cassius." As always.

I watch as a Xanderian woman struggles to tame her two daughters, both running around her in circles. Get a grip on your children lady, geez. There's a man who may be flirting with a long haired and bronzed skin woman to the right. As if he's getting with her, she's way out of his league. And then there's a couple up on the bridge sucking each other's faces. Get a room, losers.

Is this what boredom has driven me to?

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here, the Quill twins." An annoying and high pitched voice catches my attention. I look up and groan. It's Nolana Dey, surrounded by a pair of idiotic and loyal followers. Nolana is the daughter of Rhomann Dey, of the Nova Corps. She is about two years older than us. When we were smaller Dad tried to get us to 'communicate' with her, although it was incredibly hard since she is repulsive.

This one time when we were younger, she ruined her own toy in front of us then randomly started crying and ran to her mother. She told her that I was the one who broke the toy, and then that was the first time Mom had gotten angry at me. I tried to explain but Nolana kept creating these lies only to get me in to trouble.

Her skin is a rosy pink that matches the shade of her eyes. Her hair is dark and long, and she stands with a tall posture, her hands planted on her hips. She is the typical sort of girl who goes looking for an argument solely for entertainment. I despise girls like her.

"Kindly fuck off, Nolana." Alenna says as politely as she possibly could.

Nolana flashes a bright and bubbly smile as her two 'friends' snicker beside her, and straighten the skirts of their puffy and ridiculous dresses. "Alenna, did your parents ever teach you manners?" she gasps sardonically and flutters a hand across where her heart should be. That's if she even has a heart. "Or were they too busy? Forgetting about you. Keeping secrets from you. Grounding you." she ticks off her fingers and sneers slightly.

I look over to Alenna who stared up at the girls wide-eyed, her teeth grazing harshly at her bottom lip as she fumbled with her hands in her lap. She seemed to freeze in her position, as if she was affected by her words and didn't know what to say. Usually she didn't do this; she would say something back to them. I frowned and then looked back to the girls.

"Leave us alone." I recommend sharply.

The girls all turn to me now, as if focusing on their new victim. Their smiles grow wider and Nolana chuckles, "Cassius Quill." she says and places a hand firmly on her hip, and a short silence follows. I can almost hear the gears grinding in her head. "Some people bring happiness wherever they go; you bring happiness _whenever_ you go." She finally says and for some reason almost looks proud of herself.

"How long did it take to come up with that one?" I arch a brow at her. "You are physically repulsive, intellectually damaged, you're morally reprehensible, vulgar, insensitive, selfish, stupid, you have no taste, a lousy sense of humour and you smell." I flash a bright grin, and she tilts her head as the words process through her thick skull. "On second thought, it's pointless to make fun of you because it will take you the rest of the day to figure it out."

She blinks and looks completely taken aback by my words. No one ever stands up to Nolana just because her father is some major leader in the Nova Corps. She'll probably go tell her mother, or worse her father because of this. "Excuse me?" she scoffs and stares at me with disbelief. The two girls beside her gape at me, as if I've just committed some crazy crime.

"You're excused." I say and gesture for her to leave.

"We're not done here." She says to me and then eyes Alenna, but then they flick their long hair and turn around to disappear in the crowds.

I look over to my sister who is attempting her maintain a bland expression, yet fails and ends up laughing. As I'm about to say something -

"Grounded." A familiar voice says. I turn around to find my mother, Rocket and Groot standing behind me. "Rocket had forgotten his gun here, so we had to come back and get it." She explains as Rocket picks up his oversized gun and attaches it to his back. Great.

"That is the daughter of Rhomann Dey, one of the leaders in Nova." She mother goes on and shakes her head slowly at me. "I can explain –" I begin to say but she cuts me off.

"Grounded, the both of you. Cassius, I would have thought you knew better." She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose lightly. "Grounded?!" I raise my eyebrows, I'm barely ever grounded.

And that's not even fair, I was defending us! Alenna got grounded for hooking up with some random guy and lied about spending the night with friends. I'm getting grounded just because I snapped back at Nolana Dey to support the both of us.

"Welcome to my world." Alenna mutters quietly.

* * *

><p>After waiting some time at the fountain, and dealing with the 'consequences to my actions', we were taken to Meredith and Adam's ship, the Lennon. I choose to call them by their first names since the words grandpa and grandma make me sound like I'm eight again. I hate Adam, for various reasons – too many reasons. Everyone expects me to admire him or something just because he taught me everything I know about quantum magic. But I don't.<p>

"Hi." I mutter a greeting drowsily, and awkwardly clear my throat.

Meredith smiles brightly and is the first to wrap me in an ambitious and tight hug, engulfing me within her warmth and welcoming fruity fragrances. She pulls back and grasps on to me at arm length, "You've grown so much!" she flashes a pretty grin and shakes her head in disbelief, her blonde curly hair bouncing lightly.

"Meredith, you saw me last week." I say, with a small smile. "Exactly!" she laughs and pulls away to go greet my sister.

I turn to Adam, returning to my usual bored expression.

"Cassius." He says and cautiously offers me a smile.

"Yeah." I say and stare blankly at him. He sighs and after a few moments, he gives up and goes to talk to Mom and Dad.

"Kids, why don't the both of you go explore the ship or something?" Dad asks, although it sounds more like an order. "Kids?" I repeat quietly.

I think they all needed to talk, without us in the room to interfere. But what? I began to grow curious, and merely suspicious.

Alenna grabs my arm and drags me through an open hallway, the door slamming down behind us. "You heard the old people, let's check this place out." Alenna says and starts to walk down the metal oriented hallway, heavy clanks following after her.

I sigh at her stupidity. "Alenna, just wait." I tell her and press an ear to the cold door. The voices are muffled but I manage to hear a few sentences.

"Alenna is out of control! She was sleeping around with yet another guy last night!" I hear Dad's voice.

"And Cassius. His attitude is horrible." Mom adds and I hear her sigh. I roll my eyes slightly but continue to listen. So they were talking about us.

"They're only children. They're learning from mistakes." Meredith defends. See, this is why I love her.

"They're probably going to end up like us." Rocket joins in. "In jail, or something. The Kyln?"

The Kyln sounds oddly familiar. I've read about it somewhere in one of my Nova history books. The Kyln is an interstellar prison facility run by the Nova Corps. They call the Kyln the stomach of the prison system: No matter how good you are going in, you come out pretty bad.

"You're right." I hear Drax. A short and deadly silence follows.

"Do you think – Are you saying that…they were a bad idea?" Dad says. Words don't hurt me much, but this hit me pretty hard; a forceful pang of guilt, regret and shock rush through my veins. Of course we were a bad idea.

"Of course they were not a bad idea." Rocket dismisses forcefully.

I feel Alenna tap on my arm rapidly, "Let me listen!" she whispers and continues to swat me on the arm with more force. "Shut up!" I whisper-yell back and she responds with an irritated grunt, but stops hitting me.

"Do you hear that?" Dad asks slowly and I can practically feel seven pairs of eyes burn in to the steel door. I freeze and grab Alenna before running down the hallway and taking a few random turns. This place is huge.

"What was all that about?" Alenna asks and laughs slightly as we slow down. I stare at her blankly, "Nothing." I murmur in answer and rake a hand through my hair. What was the point of telling her?

"Whatever." She says, giving me a weird look as we both walk down the new hallway. I turn to look back but everything looks so different, and I feel as though I've lost sense of direction. A strange muted crystallized sound fills the silent air and I frown. Alenna notices it to and halts to a stop.

It's coming from a door to the right side of the hallway, and Alenna looks up to me with a mischievous smirk.

"No." I shake my head. When Dad said "explore the ship", I don't think he literally wanted us to explore the ship. We are already in so much trouble, and I don't think peering in to rooms would help our lovely reputations right now. "Uh-uh, definitely not." I tell her but she rolls her eyes. "Ugh, you're such a loser." She sighs and walks over to the door.

"If being a loser consists of our caring for our well being, safety and not making idiotic choices – then yes. I am a loser." I say and follow her anyway.

There's a green button beside the door, planted against the wall. "I wonder what this button will do." Alenna says in a ridiculous animated voice and dramatically pushes down on the button. Nothing happens. "Okay, you've had your fun. Let's go back now." I say urgently and try to tug on her arm. I just have a bad feeling about this.

The door opens slowly, the strange and mysterious sound becoming more louder. The dark room emits a strange yellow glow. She looks at me then back at the door, "So that's what it does." She says before rushing quickly in to the glowing room.

"Alenna," I sigh and go after her, pausing in my steps beside her. The door closes behind us.

"Whoa." I whisper.

A diamond shaped amber gem glows in the darkness, a blinding shine spreading across the large space as it lay across a podium placed in the centre of the room. I squint as I continue to stare at the foreign object. It had a drowsy effect yet made my heart rate increase speed.

"What is that?" Alenna asks inquisitively and takes a small step forward.

And for once, I don't know. One thing for sure is, is the gem looks incredibly powerful and maybe even dangerous.

"I – I don't know." I answer quietly. "Finally, something that you _don't _know about!" she laughs, looking back at me.

"It may seem like it, but I don't know everything." I remind her and move closer toward the glowing gem to take a better look. She joins me, and so we are just standing there for a while and looking at the fascinating object. I've never seen anything like it before, not even in books. It gleams as bright as the sun's rays at dawn; radiant and shining, it reigns supreme amongst all jewels and gems, its perfect features scorning those of others. I wanted to pull away but I couldn't.

"You annoy me when you're breathing." Alenna whispers, interrupting the moment.

"Will you just shut up?" I ask her loudly.

"No!" she raises her voice and turns to me, pausing as she just stares at me. A frown paints her features, "How are we even related?!"

"I've been asking the same question for the past sixteen years." I say calmly. "It's a living nightmare with you."

"Don't be such a smart ass, Cassius!"

"Am I being smart with you? How would you know?" I smirk down at her.

"You shut your mouth when you're talking to me!" she yells, and I frown taking a step back. That didn't even make any sense.

Suddenly I can hear footsteps thud against the steel flooring, but ignore it and continue to shout at her. What are _they_ going to do, huh? Ground me again? Send me to the naughty corner? I don't care anymore! I hate my family!

"Do you know what people say about you? They say you're slutty, rude and obnoxious. I would defend you but I don't like telling lies." I say narrow my eyes at her.

"I hate you!" she yells and flails her arms around, knocking the yellow glowing gem off its podium. Due to my reflexes, I instantly grab the stone as it was to fall to the ground. She grabs my arm, intending to punch me. Hate and enmity welled up in my heart, fury itself burning me up. Every word stung only fueling the fire that burned inside of me. Every violated phrase was like gasoline to it, my fists began to clench and my jaw rooted

The door abruptly opens back up there stands Dad, Mom, Rocket, Groot, Drax, Meredith and Adam with either shocked or angered expressions. And for once I don't care about what they have to say. And it feels good.

"I wish you were never born!" Alenna screams at me, the grip of her arm growing tighter. I clench my jaw.

"I wish _you_ were never born!" I counter back. The stone in my hand begins to glow harder and sends a strange rippling warmth through my body and makes my vision blur. I feel dizzy and nauseous but simply ignore the feeling. I hated Alenna. I hated my family. I hated everyone.

"Cassius and Alenna!" I hear Mom say, but I couldn't even react to her words. Everything just blurred more.

The sound of the crystallized stone and utter madness whirls around my brain, and then everything goes black.

Darkness.


	3. Chapter Three

_Alenna's POV_

I begin to feel sick, and my head feels heavy as if it's going to drop off at any moment. My blurred vision begins to bury my mind in darkness which seems to oppress me like an awful weight. The only sounds that I can hear is the crystallized whirl of the yellow gem, growing louder and louder as the darkness grew deeper and deeper. I can still feel my grip on Cassius's arm but can't see anything at all.

Suddenly I feel myself getting thrust forward into the darkness and whirling sounds. Then I begin to hear snippets of different voices. The voices sound familiar, but some of the things they say towards the end I cannot recall at all.

"_It's a living nightmare with you."_

"_Alenna, did your parents ever teach you manners?"_

"_Why don't you slip in to something more comfortable? A coma, perhaps?"_

"_By the way, you're grounded."_

"_Don't tell your father or mother I'm teaching you about guns."_

"_I'm Groot."_

"_To be a good warrior you must remain focused."_

"_You look just like your mother."_

"_This is our galaxy, Alenna"_

"_We are family."_

What is going on? I feel myself holding my breath but can't let it go, and it burns. The voices begin to overlap each other and become harder to understand. I feel myself slowly slipping away – and then everything stops. Just like that. Before I could even comprehend what is going on, I flick open my eyes and take in a deep refreshing breath of air.

The first thing I see is Cassius, and pure anger builds up in my veins once more. It's the only emotion I can feel right now. I didn't know who threw the first punch, but suddenly my fist was slamming into his jaw while he sunk into my stomach. He grabbed his jaw as I gagged. We stumbled apart for a brief second to catch our breaths before diving back at each other, eyes narrowed in determination. I have always been more physically advanced than Cassius thanks to Mom, but he is smarter than I am.

"I hate you!" I yell him furiously.

I attempt to kick him in the chest, only to be blocked by a transparent cerulean shield that he quickly conjured with his magic. "Stop!" he shouted, and panted. The shield that he created disappeared into nothingness, which only gives me a chance to strike. I raised my clenched fist and he caught it in mid-air, "Stop." He repeats quietly, and I frown as I lower my fist. "What?" I say through clenched teeth, and my knuckles turning white.

"Look around you." He tells me slowly and takes a step back, just in case I decide to attack him again. My frown turns in to a skeptical look. Look around? When I look up, I understand. Anger distracted me, and I didn't even notice our surroundings. I could barely think before, it was as if my brain blurred out all logical thoughts.

Gold and pale sunlight lightens up the azure sky, the weather noticeably cooler from beforehand. It wasn't extremely hot. People walk past us in large crowds and groups, chatting amongst themselves about different and distinct topics while others don't even have the time to talk. Familiar tall, flat or oddly shaped buildings surround us. We weren't on the ship anymore. And I don't recall Xandar looking exactly like this. How did we even get here?

"We teleported." I answer my own question and slowly spin around to take a look at everything. Things look the same but strangely obscure. That long iron bridge to the right, for example, never was there a few hours ago. I simply sigh, not presenting any interest. We just needed to get back to the ship.

"Something tells me that we didn't teleport." Cassius mutters, and pauses to take another look at the atmosphere. I raise my eyebrows at him and fold my arms over my chest, dismissing his statement. I'm pretty sure that we did teleport.

"We need to get back, even though we'll probably be grounded for life or whatever." I tell him, and look through the crowds. I notice Nova Prime guarded by four Nova Corps, for every side. "Hey, Nova can help us!" I suggest and quickly walk over to the tightly-packed group with Cassius behind me, trying to peek through the gaps in between the tall Corps. Nova Prime knew us as children, due to our parents' previous connections with her, and if she isn't busy she may be able to take us back to the ship.

"Nova!" I try getting her attention, and when I finally do she raises a hand to the Corps surrounding her, getting them all to pause and clear way. She turns to me, "What is the problem, child?" she asks impatiently, as if she was in a hurry for something.

I frown a little, "It's Alenna. Alenna Quill." I say slowly. Old people tend to forget things sometimes. Nova raises her eyebrows and I suddenly notice that she looks younger, and her skin is glowing and radiant. Before she has a time to react to my introduction I quickly blurt out, "What lotion are you using? You look totally younger. What are people using these days?"

Cassius nudges me in ribs after I finish and I moan, rubbing the spot that he roughly hit.

"Excuse me?" Nova frowns with shock.

I hear Cassius sigh and he pushes me out of the way, "We got teleported here, and need some help getting back to the ship." He explains.

"Why are you asking me for help?" she asks, getting more impatient and before we could even answer she says, "Who are you?"

Cassius and I share a baffled look. "If you don't mind, I'll be on my way." Her voice sounds stiff and she raises a hand towards the four Nova Corps, continuing to walk in the same direction with a quick pace off to somewhere or something important. What the heck was that?

"Alenna, I don't think we teleported." Cassius repeats himself as we both watch Nova Prime disappear off into the crowds.

"What do you mean?" I inquire lazily. I'm silently starting to agree with Cassius.

"Meredith inherits the Infinity Stone of Time, correct?" he says, and I tilt my head to the side. What does that have to do with anything right now?

"So?" I frown and gesture for him to get to the point.

"I'm only guessing but I think that gem that we found on the ship was the Infinity Stone. We were both connected to it; I caught it, and you grabbed my arm." He begins to explain. My arms unfold back to my sides and I harshly bite the inside of cheeks. I can feel the previous wounds reopening and taste the metallic flavor of blood. This doesn't sound too good.

"We transported ourselves back to a time where we never existed." He finally says and my jaw slowly drops with realization.

"_I wish you were never born!"_

Back sixteen years in to the past?

I begin to pace back and forth and place my head in my hands, "We're going to be stuck here forever! No family. Our friends don't exist either. And everyone that we know that is alive right now, won't know us back" I say, becoming more worried by the second.

"Alenna," Cassius says, but I ignore him and continue to ramble about all the horrible possibilities. How is he so calm all the time?!

"What happens if we disappear? Ruin the space-time thingy?!"

"Alenna!" Cassius shouts and I stop pacing to look up at him. "Calm down, first. There's always a possible solution for these situations."

I can't help but laugh cruelly, "These situations? You make it sound like it's an everyday problem, Cassius. Open your eyes, it's not."

He looks at me irritably and takes a short breath before speaking again. "We need to find that Time Stone, wherever it may be, and travel back to current time."

"And if we don't?" I suggest cautiously. Knowing us two, we don't work well as a team.

"We will flicker out of existence." He answers casually, and I look to the floor with even more difficult questions running through my head.

"But wait – What if Mom and Dad haven't even met each other yet? And when we do return to current time, our realities could be changed." I say.

Cassius seemed to ponder in deep thought at this, and he rubs the back of his neck. It was strange to see him so clueless because he usually always knew how to escape from all problems. He knew answers, and I knew the questions.

"I doubt that it would happen although we could find our parents and we could somehow convince them to help us. And just in case -" I quickly cut him off. "Make them fall in love?"

He gives me a strange look, "We just need their help. Do not mess their fates up. We would need to go along with everything because if you're right, the both of us might not even exist in the future." He answers and walks off in the other direction, and I almost lose sight of him as two crowds overlap.

"Where are you going?!" I yell over people's heads, and push them forcefully out the way as I manage to catch up to him. I get nudged by people, some even offering nasty threats as I shove them. I ignore them and quickly move along.

"We have to start somewhere, right?" he says and doesn't even look at me as he continues to walk. I frown in confusion. We come to an opening at the bottom of a set of stairs, clear of most people. What are we even looking for?

I slop down on to one of the bottom steps and slowly sink my face in to my hands.

"Are you alright?" Cassius says and stops walking, but it sounds as if it was an effort to even ask a simply caring question. I decide not to answer him because I just need to think for a little while.

We wouldn't even have to be here if it wasn't for Cassius, who was the one who grabbed the fucking glowing thing. Why didn't he let it fall? Who cares? "This is all your fault." I voice my thoughts and look up at him, "You grabbed it."

"And you're the one who first activated it. Do you not remember your own words?" he quickly counters back and I bite down on my tongue. "Okay, let's not play the blame game here." I dismiss and flutter a hand as I rise back up to my feet. We needed to find this ridiculous gem back on Meredith's ship. And she could be anywhere in this galaxy. Unless the Time Stone is not with her...

"Hey Alenna," Cassius nudges me lightly, and he stares off to something distinct ahead. I simply look at him and wait for him to continue, "I think we found someone who could help us." He says and gestures towards a familiar looking water fountain.

There stood Rocket and Groot; Groot was lapping up water from the water fountain as Rocket distracted himself by looking at Xandar through a rectangular flat transparent object that I couldn't exactly point out from here. They both haven't exactly changed much appearance wise. It's so strange to see them here, as if they didn't even belong.

Cassius and I smile at each other before making our way to them both, and I don't know about Cassius but I had no plan whatsoever. They didn't even seem to notice us standing there at first. Rocket tapped away at the object he was holding, which seemed to identify people and their details, and by the looks of it he was making fun of people. Typical.

The edges of his device were dangerously flickering red as if to signal a warning, "Forty thousand units?" Rocket questions looking through the transparent screen with disbelief. "Ooh, we're gonna be rich!" he smiles with excitement and looks over to Groot who continued to savor the water. Rocket moans and shakes his head with disapproval. Rocket and Groot seem to have been friends for an incredibly long time.

Suddenly Rocket notices our presence, and for some reason I believe that he would actually recognize us so it's strange to hear him ask, "Can I help you?" in a bored tone.

"Actually –" Cassius begins but Rocket instantly interrupts.

"When people ask that question, they don't mean it literally." He explains to Cassius. "So, why don't the both of you run along and annoy someone else." He says and turns to Groot who continued to enjoy the water from the fountain.

I turn to Cassius who shrugs with defeat. I turn back to Rocket, "Rocket." I begin and he snaps toward me at the mention of his name. "My name is Alenna, and the asshole beside me is Cassius. Would you believe us if we told you that we're from the future?" I ask, getting down to the point. I was not wasting my time dealing with this crap.

"No." he answers but I continue on. "Well we are. And we know you in sixteen or so years." I tell him.

"Prove it." He says and lowers his transparent screen device, starting to become interested in our topic. At this I clench my jaw, trying to think of something that only he would know, but I get stuck. Maybe if I had pried my family's past open a little more this wouldn't exactly be a problem right now. Yet how would have I know that I was going back sixteen years to convince my family that they were actually my family?

"You never asked to be made." Is all I can think of so I look down to the floor in defeat. I look back up to him but he stares blankly at me with an emotion I cannot place. After a few long and awkward moments I sigh, turning to Cassius.

"C'mon, Cassius." I mutter and begin to walk away. We'll have to figure something else out quick, or we'll be stuck living in a reality that we don't belong in.

"Wait!" I hear Rocket's voice shout, and Cassius and I quickly turn around hopefully. Rocket looks slightly embarrassed, "I'll help you." He nods uncertainly and I smile in relief. Maybe this would be easier than we thought.

"Am I alive in sixteen years?" he questions abruptly and I raise an eyebrow. "Um, yeah." I answer slowly, and he genuinely looks surprised. Why wouldn't he be alive?

"We need your help, Rocket." Cassius cuts in, bringing the topic back up impatiently. "We need to get back to current time or we could ruin, not only our existence, but your future reality." He explains. "We need to find the Infinity Stone of Time." He says finally but Rocket looks completely and utterly confused but nods anyway.

"Okay, deal." He says simply. It couldn't be this easy, could it? "But in return I need you to help me catch that guy." He says, pointing up on the bridge to a man who was fighting someone. I can't really see from this point of view, the minor heatwaves make the bridge look blurry and fuzzy. I don't even know why Rocket would want to catch this guy, but if it was to help us go back then so be it.

"You two can fight?" Rocket asks quickly.

Cassius and I both look at each other before nodding.

"Good." Rocket says, reassured by our answer.

* * *

><p>We follow Rocket and Groot up the stairs that we had previously stopped by and as we got closer and closer towards the two people fighting, I realized that I recognized them.<p>

_Mom and Dad?!_

What the fuck is going on?!

Although they did look slightly younger I could still identify them. I expect them to look up and stop fighting, or maybe even recognize us but I quickly remove the thought. Is this the first time they had met? Why are they fighting each other? And what is going on?! I look to Cassius who shares the same bewildered look on his face but doesn't say anything to Rocket or Groot. So I don't either.

I remember Cassius had told me not to mess with their fates. We just need their help, so we cannot change anything drastic. But I definitely do not want to hurt them. What are Rocket and Groot's intentions? I try not to think much of it. Focus, we only need them for help. Maybe Rocket and Groot are just trying to say hi.

Yeah, right.

"Who the heck is this girl?" Rocket wonders referring to Mom and sighs. "You two – all you need to do is get the guy in this bag," he explains guesting to a large body sized bag that Groot is holding, "And as for the lady, just get her outta our business. Use force if needed." He smirks. He and Groot make their way over to the two who were now on the floor. By the looks of it, Dad wasn't doing so well. Mom was on top of Dad and holding a knife over her head, ready to strike. My eyes widen and I just freeze.

Rocket pushes Mom off Dad just in time and begins to climb up to her face, clawing and scratching to distract her while he gave Groot orders. "Put him in the bag! Put him in the bag!" Rocket shouts while he continues to scratch Mom. I can't do anything, I just stare absently. Groot begins to pull Mom in the bag with crawling branches.

"No! Not her, idiot!" Rocket tells Groot frantically, and Mom yells. "This woman is crazy!" he shouts and Mom furiously bites him on the arm. "Biting?! That's not fair!"

Dad has the chance to run off and Cassius goes after him I raise my eyebrows with slight shock at his actions. "Don't just stand there!" Rocket shouts at me, snapping me out of my thoughts. I just blink and watch Mom finally throw Rocket off the bridge and she recovers to pick up her dagger nearby from the floor. She was in a stance to throw it towards the direction Dad was in, who was struggling to fight against Cassius and his powerful quantum magic abilities.

I drag in a deep breath through my clenched teeth before finally deciding what to do. I kick the dagger out of Mom's hand and she looks at me with an odd questioning look. I'd be confused too if I saw someone strangely similar to me for the first time. I want to say something but I'm not sure what, and we are just staring at each other as the dagger comes back down. Suddenly, Mom catches the dagger's handle in the air and instantly advances towards me. I dodge her attempt of a hit, but she hooks her leg around mine which makes my knee dramatically bend over. At her advantage, she roughly pushes me to the floor and runs off in the opposite direction to Dad and Cassius.

I lie on the floor, pushing my body slowly up. People move back and look stare at me with curiosity, watching everything unfold in mad frenzy. At least I'm not hurt. I clear my throat and brush some imaginary dust off of my shoulder as I run forward.

Rocket is nowhere in sight while Groot makes his way over to Dad and tries to put him in the bag but Mom slices off a bit of Groot's arm off with her dagger. Cassius takes a few steps back while staring at Mom with wide eyes. I knew Mom was good, but not _this _good. And Dad is seemingly skillful too. I wonder where they both learnt how to fight like this.

Instead of attacking Dad, Mom jumps off of the bridge, landing skilfully and pushes her dagger back in her boot holder, running towards a strange sphere shaped object. It reminded me of Rocket's metallic bits and pieces back on the Milano.

Dad leaps off of the bridge too, landing on top of Mom forcefully but Mom instantly switches places and pins him down to the floor. They both say something to each other that I cannot hear and then Dad grabs the strange sphere object off of Mom, attaching a cheap emporium battery rocket blaster to her leg making her fly in to a nearby pit of water that was connected to a water fountain with a large splash.

What is that object and why do they both want it so badly?

As I turn around, Groot and Cassius have disappeared too. I groan, and look down at the distance from the bridge to the floor. I shake my head, it looked too far. Yet without thinking, I quickly throw myself off. Bad idea.

I successfully land on my feet but a searing pain surges from my ankles and through my legs. I moan and bend down a little, to recover. People move out the way as I they all stare and whisper amongst themselves. I see Groot finally stuffing Dad inside of the over-sized bag with a big smile on his face. I catch up to them, pushing crowds of people out of the way and then Rocket says to Groot, "Stop smiling you idiot, you're supposed to be a professional."

A professional what?

As I look up, there stands Mom who is soaking wet and grasping her dagger once more, looking angrier than ever. Rocket seems to notice her too, "You gotta be kidding me" he mutters.

I groan and wearily slump my shoulders.

Is this what would really happen if me and Cassius weren't here?

* * *

><p><strong>Imagine going back to a time where you never existed. Actually weren't even an idea to your parents. For me, living in the 90's would suck I guess. They don't have iPhones or good wifi.<strong>

**Thanks for all the new reviews, it helps a lot and I update more often! I think Cassius is my favorite twin. I don't know, I just like smart guys. What do you guys think so far of the story? Is this chapter too rushed? What would you like to see, and what do you predict? **

**Review, Follow, Favorite! :)**


	4. Chapter Four

_Cassius's POV_

We were finally arrested after ending our short yet violent brawl back on Xandar, and taken to the Kyln under the authority of the Nova Core for disturbing the peace of others and minor wreckage to public property. This is the first time me and Alenna have officially been in trouble with the law. And it had seemed as though the others had some crucial time in prision to catch up on for committing crimes such as murder, mechanic theft, and sexual assault. I don't understand why my parents would never tell me about their pasts, and that they were all infamous galactic outlaws, although seeing it from their perspective I do think it was to protect us.

Why would you hide stuff like that though? They're keeping secrets from us, their own children. I didn't even know how good they were at physical combat. I've only seen them do petty things on the Milano, like fights between Rocket and Drax over the last plate. But watching Mom attack us like that was admittingly shocking.

And I now know where Alenna had inherited her trademark flirtatious abilities from, after observing the behaviour of Dad – I mean, Peter. I also need to try and call my parents by their actual names, or it will obviously ruin everything. And it felt right to call them by their first names, as if they were different people.

We have to find the Infinity Stone fast because we could disappear, and this would remain the official reality. The wormhole of the space-time-continuous could collapse, therefore ruining the paradox. I'm not exactly sure if we will transport back the time we left though, I haven't studied the conclusions of time travel well enough.

The only alternative way to get back would be to travel at the speed of light, which may be physically impossible. So, Infinity Stone it is.

When Alenna and I had entered the prision identificator rooms, they were not able to track down our pasts and some personal details so they blame it on technical difficulties and throw us all in the prison anyway.

Xandarians are idiots.

So far I have discovered that Rocket and Groot have escaped twenty-two prisons, my mother is an infamous galactic assassin, and my father 'owns a song'. I'm still trying to figure out where Drax is though and when my family manages to meet him. Time is running out, Alenna and I need to escape this prision fast and find some way to make things return to normal. Who knows how long we will be in custody for?

* * *

><p>The prision has an incredible high-rise ceiling that allows barely any light inside, every surface is made of some tough metal or forbidden material, and there is a tall and intimidating watch tower to the right where the 'guards' protect us from above. Fellow prisoners swarm the area, gradually noticing our presence with disapproving snarls. They begin yelling threats and insults at us, colliding in a massive jumble so I cannot even comprehend a single sentence. My frown deepens and then Alenna stands close by me, with a mixture of strange fascination and cower as she stares up at all the buff prisoners standing on higher platforms.<p>

"Go to hell, Gamora!" A female prisoner shouts roughly above the rest, and throws a piece of stale bread towards her. Gamora simply ignores them all with a bored expression, simply dodging the limp piece of bread.

"Like I said, she has a rep." Rocket tells us over the overlapping voices. I clench my teeth and force myself not to snap back at the prisoners, it would be foolish. "A lot of prisoners here lost their families to Ronan and his goons." Rocket explains and I glance back at my mother, finding it hard to imagine her slaughtering families under Ronan's command. Ronan the Accuser killed many innocent people and declared war on Xandar yet failed. Afterwards he somehow suffered a fatal death from a group of guardians – the book I was reading didn't provide enough information but I didn't mind. I'm not exactly interested. Apparently he is alive during this time period.

"She'll last a day, tops." Rocket nods towards my mother. One male prisoner jabs me in the ribs forcefully and I stumble back, glare, and continue to walk.

"The guards will protect her right?" my father asks causally, but he seemed genuinely concerned.

"They're only here to stop us from getting out. They don't care what we do to each other inside." Rocket answers my father. I hear Alenna whimper quietly behind me.

"Check out the new girl," a small group of male prisoners approach Alenna wearing appraising smirks and massive egos. Alenna scowls at them and attempts to move back away, but the 'leader' of their gang grabs her arm and tugs her forward. He has an ugly jaggered mark starting from the right corner of his lip, travelling across his eye and to the arch of his eyebrow. Let's call him Scar. "Where do you think you're going, hun?" Scar asks lowly and chuckles, his little group joining in.

"Step away from her, or else." I threaten sharply and step forward.

Their laughter silences slightly but Scar refuses to let go Alenna, who is now squirming under his insanely tight grip. "Or else what, pretty boy?" he asks with a humorous sneer.

I conjure a transparent blue knife in my hands menacingly and the group of people behind him begin to grow in large numbers. Scar chuckles deeply, "You don't know what you're getting yourself into, boy." He warns darkly.

"Actually I do." I say simply, and smirk. "A man who cannot fight for himself." I gesture towards his now large group.

Scar instantly advances towards me with gnarled teeth, and a tightly clenched fist. I manage to duck under his swing but one of his group members come from behind and tug me straight up. Scar raises his fist above his head with a cruel smirk, ready to punch.

Suddenly a tall figure defends me and Alenna, and I blink a few times to realise that it is Groot. Groot raises Scar off of the floor and has his hand growing harshly around his neck, causing him to choke and wheeze. The shouting and insulting crowds grow silent. My eyes widen as I watch Groot let a grown man's body dangle helplessly centimetres off the ground.

"Let's make something clear," Rocket shouts across the prison. "These two here are our booty. You wanna get to them, you go through us." Rocket goes on. "_Or_ more accurately, we go through you."

Groot lets Scar drop to the floor with a loud thud and he begins coughing, pressing his fingertips to his reddened neck.

Why did he protect us like that? I could have done it myself, but Groot has always been the same. Ever since we were kids when people decided it was a great idea to bully us Groot and Rocket liked to have a word or two with them, much to the dismay of my parents. But now he only made us look weak in front of all these tough prisoners.

"Hey, thanks." Alenna mutters, her eyes not making it up to mine. "Whatever." I mumble back, obviously irritated.

"I could've done it myself." I walk past Groot and over the damaged and whimpering body.

Groot grunts and follows me, and Rocket trailing along. "I'm with them." Peter says with a nod before stepping over the body himself.

"Wait up!" Alenna shouts and catches up with us.

* * *

><p>"Twins?" Peter repeats with disbelief and his eyes flicker between me and Alenna. "Are you sure?"<p>

I lean against the prison railing beside the table and cross my arms, "Unfortunately, yes, I am sure." I answer with a smile. "We are fraternal." Quickly clarifying. This question has been asked many times considering that we looked barely alike and had nothing in common whatsoever.

Alenna says, "I know it's a little hard to believe I'm even related to…that, but I assure you we are siblings, although there are rumours of Cassius being adopted." And I roll my eyes. Even though it was a joke, Alenna has always been embarrassed to be my sister. Every time she brings her so-called friends over she makes sure that I am out of sight, or doing something else on the Milano. I wasn't exactly bothered about it, it was just that…

Rocket and Peter chuckle and I shake my head at them. I don't care at all actually.

It feels really strange to be having a normal conversation with my family members, but I'm enjoying it more than I should. I could barely talk to my father in the present without starting an argument, and I barely knew anything about him.

After the showdown, everyone in prison decided it was best to steer clear of us. They feared us; and I liked that. Alenna, Rocket, Peter and I were chatting on the second platform of the prison layout, eating the last of our low standard meals before we could be sent to our male/female sectors for the night. I'm not sure where Groot and Gamora are.

"So _Peter_, what do you think of Gamora?" Alenna asks, leaning across the table with an innocent smirk. Of course she must ask that, it's incredibly typical for her to do.

"What about her?" Peter asks cluelessly and tilts his head to the side, making a face as he attempts to eat a spoonful of the dark colored slosh.

"Do you like her, Peter?" Alenna gets to the point quickly.

"Yeah, she's alright." Peter answers simply and Alenna sighs deeply, face palming her forehead. "Not in that way." She shakes her head lowly.

He raises his eyebrows as a wave of realisation washes over him, "Oh." He mummers slowly and a smirk forms on his face. "Well…I mean she is really attractive and all, but she freaks me out. She's not exactly my type." He answers.

"You'll be surprised what the future can hold." Alenna sing songs quietly under her breath, and takes a sip from her metallic cup. They don't seem to hear, thankfully.

"Why do you ask?" Peter asks Alenna suspiciously.

"No reason." She grins and raises her right shoulder. Peter makes a "fair enough" face and continues eating. How can he eat that? I try taking a spoonful too.

"How old are you, anyways?" Rocket asks, sitting on the edge of the steel table.

I open my mouth to answer when Alenna says, "Nineteen." I look at her and she smirks smugly, crossing her legs up on the table. I give her a stern look. They couldn't surely believe that we, sixteen year olds, looked to be nineteen.

"You're young." Peter comments with disbelief. I raise my eyebrows with shock. They brought it? Do we look older than our age?

"Not that young." I say tapping my foot awkwardly, and then clear my throat. What would they think if we told them that we were actually sixteen?

"That's not what I'm getting at. You're both so advanced in kicking ass. Where the hell did you learn to do that shit?" He asks and I watch as Rocket accidently knocks his bowl of slump off of the table, but doesn't seem fazed. It didn't appeal to me either.

"At Xandar?" I question slowly. The scenes of fighting my father flash back in to my mind; I used teleportation mostly, since it was a strong act of defence and didn't use much of my energy. It was easier to fight against my father now, because he didn't know about the magic abilities that he possessed.

"Yeah, what was that?" Rocked pipes up, suddenly interested in the conversation.

I smirk, "You mean this sort of stuff?" I say and raise a hand, mustering energy in to Rocket's food bowl lying on the floor. I've recently started learning more skills, and I guess now is a perfect time to practise. The bowl rises above our heads, twirling slowly, and they stare with fascination.

"Telekinesis." Rocket says and I smile.

"Show-off." Alenna mutters harshly. She has always been irritated about what I can do, and what she can't. I look at her with a smirk and flick my hand towards her, the energy transferring to her direction. The bowl hits her on head, and the excess of what seemed to be lumpy soup was in her hair. She gasps loudly, bringing her fingertips up in to her head with a grimace.

"Cassius!" she screams, and stares at me with a nasty glare. People begin to stare from lower levels. I shrug at her, and she grunts with frustration, running in the other direction to clean herself up.

I roll my eyes as I turn back to Rocket and Peter, "She'll get over it." I assure them, half expecting them to lecture me or something similar. "And I learnt everything I know from my father." I say, glancing towards Peter expectantly who simply nods.

"Where are your parents now? And do they know yet about…this?" he asks. I smile a little and think up an answer that is truthful but not giving away enough information.

"They're closer than you think. If they found out they'd probably just ground me until I'm forty and find every way possible to make my life miserable." I finally say and then shake my head, "They don't seem to care anymore about us." I add, looking towards the floor. Why would I say that?! I decide to quickly change the topic before he pushes for any more information. "What about you?" I wonder. Maybe he met Meredith and Adam already.

"Don't have parents." He dismisses quickly and looks up at the ceiling. He tries to look casual, but he seems fairly hurt. I guess families were a sensitive topic.

"Sorry." I mutter an apology seeming it was the right thing to do. What do I say? I am horrible with social situations.

"I'll be back." He excuses himself quietly and walks elsewhere. This wasn't exactly my fault; he brought up the topic first.

And then there were two.

"You're on a roll." Rocket chuckles and watches as Peter wanders down the hallway, taking a few turns until he was out of sight.

"It's a trait. I can't help it." I use as an excuse. And it actually was a trait.

"A trait to push people away?" he questions, and I sigh with nothing else to say for once. "Not something to be proud of." He says, and a frown forms on my features.

"And stealing spaceships for a living is?" I counter back defensively. Now he is sounding like present Rocket. He stares at me for a while as if to study me and shakes his head, "Listen kid, I don't know if you really are from the future or if this is some sort of gimmick but you have a lot of potential. Don't go throwing it to waste." He tells me and jumps off of the table. He gives me one last look before walking away to find Groot or do something similar.

Potential for what?

* * *

><p>When we awake from a ridiculously comfortable slumber and change in to a fabulous new pair of prison slacks – note my sarcasm – we gather our lovely looking breakfast, and notice that Drax has somehow joined us. Something happened last night between the group, where Alenna and I were not invited, causing him to be a part of our little 'team'- if you could call us that. And I didn't even notice that Drax was in the prison at all. Rocket was telling me that his family was killed by Ronan the Accuser, and he has been trying to get a knife to his neck ever since. I can't believe that Drax had a family before us.<p>

Well, its official, my family collaborated in a prison.

"I don't know about you guys, but we need to get out of here." I say and take a bite in to stale bread around as we walk down the stairs to find a vacant table, which would be easy with our current reputation. Alenna nudges past me roughly, and then looks behind her shoulder with a faint glare to her dark eyes. She's still not happy with me, after what had happened before. Women.

"Oh don't worry, we're escaping. But if we want to get out of here we're going to need to get in to that watch tower." Rocket says and subtly nods up towards the tower with bored looking guards inside, drinking from cups or sleeping over their electric panels. "And to do that, I'm going to need a few things."

"I'm listening." Alenna says. She has always been sneaky and sleek with the way she does things, so she would actually be a major help although I'm not going to admit that. It's only going to boost her already massive ego and she'd probably think that I'm being sarcastic or something.

"The guards wear security badges to activate doors. I need one." Rocket begins, and there is a guard at the top of the watch tower typing in a numerical code in to his security arm badge.

"Leave it to me." My mother assures Rocket confidently. I'm sure she didn't need help, so I wasn't going to offer.

"That guy there. I need his prosthetic leg." Rocket refers to the man hobbling towards us with an evident prosthetic leg. Why would you need that of all things?

"His leg?" Peter and I question with a frown. We both glance at each other.

"Yeah," Rocket nods. "In fact I think we'll be helping him, look he's useless." he mumbles and Alenna laughs a little as he walks past us.

"Alright." Peter agrees, and we find a table to be seated on. As I turn back, Drax has disappeared off to somewhere. I choose not to worry, he'll be back soon.

"And finally, on that wall back there, is a black panel, blinky yellow light." Rocket says and looks back to the wall he was referring to. I glance at the wall and notice the light straight away. "See it?"

"Yeah." Peter answers.

"There's a quarnarx battery behind it, silver box, green wires. To get in to that watch tower we need it."

"Quanarx batteries are extremely sensitive." Alenna says. "It has to be removed quickly."

My eyes flicker over to Groot who begins to walk over to the watch tower. The group continues to talk but I fade out of the conversation just watch Groot, who grows to the level of the quarnarx battery and pulls off the black panel with ease. The lid hits a bystander on the head, making him collapse to the floor. "Guys." I try catching their attention, but they don't seem to notice.

Drax appears at the side, watching as well. We both look at each other then back to Groot. Groot slowly pulls out a silver colored battery, connected to a green wire. The wire keeps growing and growing and Groot struggles to pull it out.

"And you defiantly need to get that last." I can hear Rocket say in the conversation. I open my mouth to speak but no words form.

When Groot does finally manage to tug the battery off of the wires, every existence of light in the prison flickers out. Now it's dark until the security system activates. Red and blue lights are beginning to flash and there is an ear blistering siren ringing throughout the prison.

Groot turns towards us offering the battery in one hand with a big grin. I sigh and smack my head down on to the table. Rocket shakes his head and looks up, "Or we could get it first and improvise!" he says as if it is a good thing.

"I'll get the armband." Gamora says.

"Leg." Peter rushes out of his seat.

Rocket groans and rubs his face with frustration. Numerous robotic protection bots fly around the area, circling Groot's tall form. "Rocket, what we do?!" Alenna asks urgently, removing herself from her seat. I glance to Rocket, and get out of my seat too.

Rocket looks up to Groot who is frowning at the bots circling him dangerously, and then a voice erupts over the speakers in warning "Prisoner, drop the device imminently and return to your cell or we will be forced to open fire."

"Rocket!" I shout desperately, we needed to do something before it was too late.

"I AM GROOT!" Groot shouts. The bots begin shooting Groot with thick bullets from different directions but Groot blocks them all, whacking them with his massive wooden arms. One is sent flying in our direction, and I quickly duck and take a deep breath. They're flying everywhere, bursting in to pink explosions of flames but more continue to come forward.

"I need you both to attack anything in our way." Rocket orders us quickly. "Got it." we nod simultaneously. "Work as a team!" he yells as he rushes off somewhere amongst the crowds.

_Work as a team._

I look to Alenna and she folds her arms, with a frown. "No." is all she can say. "We are going to have to take orders whenever you like it or not!" I tell her and her mouth is pressed in to a thin line with consideration as if she had a choice. "Fine, but this doesn't mean that we are at peace." She gives in. "At peace?" I repeat and arch a brow.

Blue uniformed officers swarm the stairs heavily armed with guns and other weaponry. "All prisoners stand down!" the front one shouts.

I hear Alenna suck in air through her teeth – I notice that she always does this before making harmful decisions or fighting against others. "Let's do this." she finally says and I nod with a smirk. Back on the Milano, we were only training for defensive mechanisms but now this was being put in to real life action and anyone could get hurt. So we had to trust ourselves to do the correct moves and make the right choices.

Several officers come forward at us with guns and repeat their threats, which I simply ignore. Alenna instantly grasps hold of one of the nearest guns and pushes the thick handle back in to user's face forcefully, knocking him out to the floor. She uses the gun to attack the advancing officer. "Get her!" the furthest one shouts. I take a step protectively in front of her and conjure a shield around us entirely while she finishes off one last officer with the gun. The gun was slick and powerful but heavy and slow. Officers begin to shoot at the shield, in attempt to break it with failure but continue to try for some reason. What idiots.

Alenna is panting deeply and drops the gun to floor, "That gun is bullshit." She says and kicks over the limp officer's body. I glance down at the body and back up to her, "Is he-"

"No, he just passed out from the energy withdrawal. The gun isn't exactly harmful physically but can remove a large amount of insanity and activeness causing you to collapse. That's why it's so heavy." She explains, placing her hands at her knees while she finally catches her breath.

"Yeah, I think I'm about to collapse in a minute." I tell Alenna, suddenly feeling tired and weary as I continue to hold the shield up.

"You're going have to get out of their some time!" the officers yell from outside of the shield, with muffled voices and continue to shoot. Alenna shouts back, "We'll be with you in a few minutes, assholes!"

"Cassius, let go." Alenna tells me. I frown at her and she says, "Trust me!"

I take in a deep breath. I can trust my imbecile sister, right? I finally let go of the shield, feeling myself being forced to the floor by a pair of hands. I turn to the side and see Alenna staring at me wide eyed. We both look up and see Drax attacking the officers and Rocket wielding a large gun upon Groot's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Alenna asks me cautiously. "You shouldn't have held that shield up for too long."

"I'm fine." I say and rise to my feet, wobbling slight and press a hand to my forehead.

"You can rest you know." She goes on.

"I said, I'm fine." I tell her, getting frustrated. She frowns at me and before we have a chance to argue about utter crap a metallic chair flies over our heads and I sigh.

How did my parents do this for a living?

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you all of reading and sorry for the longer wait! I'm going back to school tomorrow, but I will find the time to write. This chapter is a little longer, but I hope you don't mind. And the rest of the story isn't going to be the boring cliché character tag along; I might change up the plot a little to keep things interesting, a few deaths here and there. What are you guys thinking so far? I accept all criticism and feedback!<strong>

**Review, Favourite, Follow! :)**


	5. Chapter Five

_Alenna's POV_

I watch as a metal chair dangerously flies inches above our heads and fold my hands over my face, breathing out a shaky breath. I'm not going to lie, this is freaking me out. Training felt easy, and it felt as though _real_ fighting would be the same. But it's not. There are no people to catch you if you're falling, no bandages to your aid when needed, and the bad guys are actually bad. Well Nova Corps aren't exactly bad; it's just that I'm against them at this moment. I pull Cassius's arm across to a flipped table for cover, the both of us now crouching as the others fight.

"We're not working as a team right now." I tell Cassius blankly.

"Thanks captain obvious." Cassius smiles sarcastically, and I sourly smile back. He goes on, "If we're not cooperating, we need a plan of some sort."

I scoff and shake my head, "Screw the plan, just do what you have to do."

He groans and pinches the bridge of his nose, "I am trying to help us work as a team."

"Well, I don't think it's working too well." I mumble.

He ignores me and continues to speak, "We're having a plan, whenever you like it or not. Officers come out of two entrances, the one on ground level and from passages on the higher levels. They all usually make their way to the ground level, where we are."

"So what we have to do is fight back to back – partially literal. You remember what Mom told us about sensory defence?" he asks me and I must have looked really confused because he shakes his hand and mumbles a frustrated 'what is wrong with you?' before explaining more.

"Accustom all your main senses to fixate on the phenomenon behind your figure."

"Huh?" I arch a brow, with no understanding of what he was going on about. What's the point of using big fancy words when we can use smaller ones and everyone understands each other? I don't understand what he's trying to prove to me, I already he's a smart-ass.

He must have read my mind. "I'll use smaller words for you." He says with a rushed nod. "While fighting the stuff in front of you, also focus on the action behind you." He explains each word slowly.

I frown at him. He says, "You know, I can explain it for you but I can't understand it for you." And I just shake my head forcefully, "No, I understand. Just stop treating me like a child. You and your bullshit plans…" I tell him and begin to get up to go fight on my own. Before leaving I turn back, "Oh and by the way, this –" I gesture to the table providing cover, "Was to all help you recover." I smirk, referring to his faint energy levels after he conjured the shield.

"Nice." I hear him mumble.

I run in to chaos, finding myself fighting beside Drax who seemed to enjoy injuring everything in his path. I grab the collar of an officer who raises a knife to my throat, and I just sigh. He gives me a confused look. In a single quick move, I twist the knife's handle out of his grasp, stabbing him in the leg forcefully and slide the knife out. I don't have the time to watch him drop to the floor before slicing the next victim.

"Return to your cell!" An officer shouts angrily. "Huh funny, you sound just like my brother." I ponder, and then stab the knife in his arm where his uniform protected him the least.

"GET TO THE TOWER!" I hear Rocket's voice echo throughout the entire prison. Drax finishes off the last of the remaining officers before heading to the direction of the watch tower. I turn around, scanning for any signs of Cassius, only to find him running towards the watch tower as well. I bite the insides of my cheek and follow him, whilst dodging explosions and flying objects. I can feel heat form at the back of neck from explosions and the amount of activity I have to do.

I finally manage to reach the watch tower, panting with exhaustion. How am I supposed to get up there? It has to be at least twenty meters high, and there aren't enough gaps to fit my feet in.

"Will you hurry up?" I hear Cassius shout down, _from the top of the watch tower_.

"How did you…?" I begin to ask but notice Groot's growing form on ground level has helped not only my brother, but everyone else to the top. "Oh." I mutter and feel slightly embarrassed. Groot extends a wooden arm to curl around my waist and gently hoist me towards a steel bridge, where everyone else was waiting. My mother grabs my arms and pulls me up so I now stand on the bridge.

"Hey guys." I nod awkwardly, and they all stare. Rocket is typing some code into the door activation panels at an incredible pace. "Took you long enough." Cassius mutters, glancing towards me. I poke my tongue at him and he rolls his eyes.

Groot finally reaches the top of the watch tower as well. I grasp tightly on to the steel railing of the bridge and peer down of at the piles of limp uniformed bodies, remains of the metallic chairs, and small blood piles everywhere. I shiver at the sight, and wipe my knife on the side of my yellow prison slacks to remove the dark colored blood. More officers and bots were bound to show up any time soon.

"There!" Rocket shouts and the door abruptly parts in two, revealing the confined watch tower room filled with low lighting, electrical charged panels and a uniformed man who looks completely and utterly terrified.

I smirk as he raises his hands up in surrender and I walk forward amongst the others, feeling somewhat important. Gamora pulls him up from his seat and Groot uses his arms to fling his body out of the room entirely. I hear a shout as he gets sent flying backward, and the door is automatically shut after him. Rocket begins to fiddle with panels and I peer down at his work with fascination. Wow, my family is bad-ass.

"Spare me your foul gaze, woman." Drax roughly says to Gamora. I turn to look at them both, with a frown. Is there a reason why they don't get along so well?

"Why is this one here?" Gamora turns to Peter, clearly trying to remain calm.

"He promised that he could stay by your side until he kills your boss. I always keep my promises when there are serial killer wack jobs who will murder me if I don't." Peter answers quickly, and Gamora turns to the front irritably. "Here you go." Peter directs to Rocket and dumps the prosthetic leg on the desk in front of him. He actually got it?

Rocket turns to look at the leg and begins to laugh for some odd reason. "Oh I was just kidding about the leg, I just needed these two things." He tells my father casually. "What?!" Peter asks, moving closer towards Rocket, but Rocket continues to laugh. "I thought it would be funny. Wasn't it funny? What did he look like? How was he hopping around?" Rocket begins asking humorously and bursts into a fit of laughter.

I can't help but smile lightly, despite our current situation.

"I traded that thing for thirty thousand units!" Peter says wearily.

More flying bots swarm the atmosphere outside of the watch tower and my smile disappears. "How are we going to leave?" Drax asks as more danger appears.

"Oh, I've got a plan." Rocket reassures everyone, but for some reason I'm not so reassured. Bots begin to shoot at the glass, and I flinch.

"Sure you do." Cassius nods, but it comes out almost sarcastically. Every word that comes out of his mouth is sarcastic.

"I have a plan! I have a plan!" Rocket repeats and hops up on to a chair.

"I don't think I can trust this small creature at our current moment." Drax says.

"I agree with the walking thesaurus." Peter says, and it goes silent.

"Do not _ever _call me a thesaurus." Drax says threateningly to Peter. "It's just a metaphor, dude." Peter points out.

"His people are completely literal. Metaphors are gonna go over his head." Rocket explains to Peter, as he continued to jab at buttons on the panel.

"Nothing goes over my head. My reflexes are too fast, I'll catch it." Drax interrupts and I can't help but slam but head against the wall. I saw it coming.

"I am going to die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy." Gamora says lightly and I raise my head off the wall. "I ain't _that_ bad." I try to negotiate and all she does is raise a brow.

Heavily armed officers wearing some form of a mask march in a line outside the glass and I bite down on my lip as I notice the size of their guns leaning on their shoulders. Those guns are ultra-packed textile hand canons, and they cost a fortune.

"Those are some big guns." Peter says, with a tinge of fear in his voice.

"What I would kill to get my hands on one of those." I admit quietly and everyone turns to me strangely. "I was only joking." I try to laugh it off. They don't have a chance to react anyway.

"On my command!" I hear a muffled booming voice order to the armed soldiers.

"Rocket," Cassius insists. "A little faster."

"I'm working on it!" Rocket responds as he pushes various buttons and switches.

"Number one!" the voice outside and shouts and my eyes widen as I suddenly see a crack forming in the glass and black smoke blocking part of our vision. That's one powerful gun.

"Rocket we are ready for your plan!" Gamora demanded. "Hold on!" he shouts back.

"Number two!" the man shouts and I watch as the crack grows larger, and even more smoke covers the glass.

"I recognise this animal. We shared it over a marvellous feast, it was quite delicious." Drax mentions randomly, referring to Rocket.

"NOT HELPING!" Rocket turns around and growls ferociously at Drax.

"Number three!"

The glass is getting weaker, and each power shot keeps getting stronger. One more shot, and the glass would completely shatter. Tiny triangles of glass fall out of its frame and on to the panel in front of Rocket.

"All fire, on my command!" the man shouts loudly and I groan – Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse. Surely I couldn't die here?

"3…2…1!"

I hold my breath in and squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for the pain to register but everything went dangerously quiet. I open one eye timidly and open the other one, noticing that we were all alive and healthy. The soldiers and their guns were beginning to float around in the prison as if there was zero gravity. I press my hands and face against the glass with surprise. Did Rocket do this? Was this his plan? He definitely has better plans than Cassius.

"You turned off the gravity in here." Gamora confirms with a tint of admiration in her voice, but it was hard to pick up.

The watch tower we were on is released and we are now floating too among the soldiers. I frown and look to Rocket. Okay, great. We escaped from being shot at by monster guns but how do we get out of here?

Rocket presses a few different buttons and flicks a switch then our watch tower is almost being driven to the side by some unseen force. It feels as if there are rocket blasters at the edges of this thing. My eyes widen and I peek down, my eyes instantly averting to the orange flares at the edges of our ship – the flying bots are powering our movement.

I stare in amazement as we actually begin to fly as if we were on the Milano. My mouth hangs open and I begin to laugh. Uncle Rocket is a genius.

"I told you I had a plan." He says. He proved us all wrong.

A uniformed officer smears past our screen and I chuckle a little. We drive down in to an opening, barely scraping through. The watch tower skids through the hallway, bumping in to walls and a few important looking people with badges and helmets. We then finally come to a stop after a several more bumps. A big steel door to the passageway we came in closes and so the Nova Corps don't come back to get us.

"That was a pretty good plan." Peter nods his head at Rocket. And Rocket smirks smugly.

After ditching the watch tower and running through a series of hallways, we find ourselves gathering our stuff and looking out for the Milano where all the belongings of current prisoners were kept.

"There it is!" Peter shouts, pointing up towards an orange and blue wing, resembling the Milano.

"They crumpled by pants in a ball. That's rude! They folded yours!" Rocket complains to me and I shrug at him, continuing to gather my clothing and knives.

* * *

><p>"Where's Peter?" I ask Gamora. They both were the last ones to gather their items, but only Gamora has returned. What if he is in danger? I sink in to my own leather seat at the very back, clicking the complicated seat belt on with ease. Gamora watches me strangely but shakes her head and continues on, "Peter Quill is retrieving something of his." She answers.<p>

"Well, how's he gonna get to us?!" Rocket turns to Gamora, as if she would know everything.

"He declined to share that information." Gamora informs formally and sinks in her own seat, fumbling with the seatbelt for a minute.

Rocket seems really impatient and frustrated now, "Ugh, screw this then!" he groans. "I ain't waiting around for a humie with a death wish. You got the Orb, right?" Rocket turns around in his seat again to look at Gamora.

Why did they need the Orb? Cassius frowns at me from his seat, parallel to mine. "I don't know." I mouth to him with a tiny shrug. We must have missed out on something more last night.

"Yes." She answers confidently to Rocket and reaches down in to Peter's bag to find nothing but scraps of plastic and papers. She sighs deeply.

"He took it, didn't he?" Rocket asks dreadfully. "Yes." Gamora answers once more in the same tone, and Rocket groans.

"What do we do?" Drax inquires.

"The only thing we can do. Wait." Rocket responded.

Cassius and I remain quiet, and it felt strange. Usually we would all be talking, laughing and shouting at each other on the ship with all these people but now that we're in the past and they didn't know it us it felt awkwardly silent. Cassius coughs a little, and I begin to yawn.

"I am Groot." Groot repeats his signature sentence.

"We don't speak tree, sorry." Cassius tells Groot almost harshly. Groot looks taken aback by his words. I scowl across to Cassius. He was just so mean. How could anyone be mean to Groot?!

"Hey, don't speak to him like that!" Rocket defends Groot.

"Last time I checked, you weren't in charge here. I don't know what you guys are thinking here but we are not a team. We're not even friends. So don't go bossing me around like I'm a child." Cassius ranted.

"You are a child." Gamora speaks up. "But you're right; we're neither a team nor friends."

"I would definitely not become friends with a horrible woman like yourself." Drax comments.

"How did I know that you were going to speak up?!" Gamora shouts questionably, and everyone begins shouting random outbursts at each other, insults overlapping each other just like in the prison.

"Everyone shut up now." Cassius rolls his eyes quietly and I look towards him with narrowed eyes. "What is wrong with you?!" I shout over the others.

He laughs a little, "What is wrong with me? I should be asking you the same question." He says and his smile disappears in an instant. "You think you're so special, you think you're little miss perfect with pretty hair, big eyes and everyone falling at your feet. When in reality, you're nothing like that, you're just like the rest of us." He says lowly and I clench my teeth.

"You know what? You're an asshole, Cassius." I say, trying not to be bothered by his insult.

"I AM GROOT!" Groot shouts over everyone else and our voice lowers into a silence.

"If we don't leave now, we will be blown to bits." Rocket demands for us to leave. I inhale a deep breath.

"NO!" Gamora shouts. It seems as though they were fighting about the Orb, while Cassius and I were insulting each other. "We are not leaving without the Orb."

I take the knife I had collected at the prison out of my boot holder and placed my original dagger in so I wouldn't have to do it later. I just had a feeling that the action wasn't done for now.

"Behold," Drax says, looking through the window. I lean over to look through the window, to see my father wearing his familiar silver mask, flying towards the Milano at last. I sigh in relief, glad that he was safe. Was I the only one here who had dwelled on his safety and not the Orb's?

Gamora, Drax and I unclick our seatbelts to allow Peter to enter the ship and find out what the heck he went back for. Peter emerges from the opening of the ship, and Gamora closes the lid back down. Peter removes his mask and takes a deep breath of air.

"You okay?" I wonder cautiously and he nods, taking his jacket off and hands it to me.

"This one shows spirit. He shall make a keen ally in the battle against Ronan. Companion, what were you retrieving?" Drax asks. Peter reveals a small box from his pocket that looked incredibly familiar to the one that he plays Terran songs on, and hands it to Drax.

Gamora sighs.

"You are an imbecile." Drax confirms as he stares down at the cassette, pathetic in his eyes.

"Look at the bright side," I begin but he cuts me off.

"Bright side? This ship is cloaked with many shadows." Drax interrupts and I frown.

"No I meant metaphorically – you know what nevermind." I flutter a hand with dismissal.

* * *

><p>Everyone else was on the top layer of the ship while Peter and I stayed on the bottom level. He played his Terran music, which I find enjoyable. I always have. When we were younger, we used to dance, and I remember how well my mother and father danced together in sync. We were all happy back then. Even Cassius and I weren't fighting. Everything changed after we hit thirteen years old; Cassius started pulling pranks, and I started to ruin his books. I feel as though, just because he is smarter and possess a great amount of power, everyone looks up to him more. People compare him to me. And then Mom and Dad almost seemed to drift away from us.<p>

I sigh in thought, mindlessly fiddling with the hem of leather combat boots as I lean back in to the boxes I sat on.

"You know if you don't like the song I'll change it." Peter tells me, snapping me out of my thoughts, causing me to look up to him. I smile and shake my head, "No it's fine, and I like it." I assure him. I knew this song; I've heard it about thousand times.

_I can't stop this feeling  
>Deep inside of me<br>Girl you just don't realise  
>What you do to me<em>

"It's my parents." I say basically, careful not to reveal too much detail.

"Family issues. Everyone has them." He says knowingly and I nod. "Question – where do your parents live? I need to take you back. I don't want to be accounted for kidnapping or anything." He reminds me and I laugh a little, but look to the floor. What do I say?

'I travelled back in time, and guess what Peter? You're my father!'

"I don't have parents." I say and fidget with my hands a little. I have always been a good liar, so hopefully Peter doesn't detect anything fishy. He flicks the music on his cassette player off and leans forward.

"Your brother never told me that," he said and my breath gets caught in my throat. "I know what it's like to have no parents at a young age." He says and tucks the cassette player in his pocket, and he looks slightly saddened. I nod at him slowly. The thing is though, is that his parents are actually alive and he doesn't even know that. That must burn.

"Hey, guys check this out!" Rocket shouts from the upper deck. Peter and I share a look before heading up the stairs to figure out what was going on this time.

"What is – whoa…" I begin to question and then get an eyeful of the colourful scenery. I've never seen anything like it. The planet that we were heading towards seemed to take the form of a moulded skull, collaborated with explosions of pink and purple stars amongst the velvet canvas of the galaxy.

"Ladies, gentlemen and Groot, the edge of the universe otherwise known as Knowhere." Rocket presents and my eyes widen with curiosity and amazement. This place seemed beautiful and fascinating but then again looks can deceive.

"I've heard of this place before. Taneleer Tivan used to own a museum here." Cassius states intelligently. Who the heck is that?

"Used to? He still does." Gamora says and Cassius raises his eyebrows. Someone correcting Cassius was pretty unusual, since he was always right or they never had the guts to correct him.

"Here we go…" I sigh and look towards the planet.

* * *

><p><strong>I would like to thank you all once again for the amazing reviews and feedback! The next chapter is when the action will take place, so I am very sorry for this slightly boring chapter. I am also thinking of writing another story whilst writing this one. If you have any ideas feel free to message me.<strong>

**Review, Favorite, Follow :)**


	6. Chapter Six

_Alenna's POV_

We arrived at this place called Knowhere, to sell the Orb to a certain buyer that Gamora suggested. This planet is a mining colony used to provide precious elements for black market across the entire galaxy and home to a colossal museum. My parents have never taken me here before, although I'm not exactly sure why. This place is immensely beautiful in only a way that I can see, and Cassius tells me to stop being childish. I've noticed that he's been acting extremely harsh, more than usual. I'm beginning to worry, even though I shouldn't. Why does he deserve my care when all he does is deny it?

"Watch your wallets." Peter interrupts my thoughts and I look up to notice a fleet of short and scruff children rushing to our sides with open palms and kindly asking for spare units.

"I'm sorry, I don't have any." I lie to the young brunette boy at my side. His smile slowly fades and he drops his arms to his side, walking away with his group. I feel only slightly awful but then again I only have a few units with me and had also lost a fair amount during our prison escape.

I notice Groot as he kneels down to a little blonde girl with dirt marks streaked across her smooth cheeks. Instead of giving her any units, a paltry azure flower is grown from his rough wooden hand and plucked to be given to her.

"Move along." Rocket mutters to the children, and brushes past me. I automatically begin walking too, to keep up with the group but can't help but look back. I observe as the girl slowly smiles and gratefully accepts the tiny flower and I find myself smiling too, for some odd reason.

"Get out of here." Peter ushers lousily, and I follow Peter's lead out of habit.

As we walk, we come across a strip of illegal markets and tall openings where people cluster and gather in erratic groups, but it's still easy to walk through. There are a few vibrant flashing signs in gaudy colors plastered above these openings in a language I cannot understand. The letters look like oddly marked squares and circles.

"Tivan's Museum." Cassius reads for me and matches my awkwardly slow pace.

I simply look at him before glancing back to the signs. I'm not even going to bother with him anymore.

"Your buyer's in there?" Rocket asks Gamora. A person held by his collar is thrown to the floor by a tall looking guard who wipes his hands on his pants afterwards and heads back indoors. Inside, looks glowing and bright and only feeds the hunger of my curiosity.

"We are to wait here for his representative." Gamora answers dully.

"Here?" I raise a brow and eye the crowds who stare at us disapprovingly as if we didn't belong. I am familiar with this sort of acknowledgement, because wherever we go we are stared at.

"What do you expect us to do while we wait?" Drax asks Gamora, and there is a small moment of silence as we all stop and glance at each other in thought.

* * *

><p>"Go, go, go!" I shout and grip the cool edges of the table with anticipation.<p>

Crowds of people hollered and cheered with fistfuls of precious units raised in the air as they continuously gamble. Everyone is scraping and pushing up against each other, shoving me deeper into the edges of the table, and I groan a little. The salty smell of sweat and strong liquor invades my nostrils and my lungs protest, as I let out a small cough.

It was Rocket's idea to take us here; Starlin's Bar. I am supposed to be underage, but they don't know that I'm sixteen. Rocket snuck us all in anyway so we wouldn't have to provide our ID's – since I secretly don't have one, and Nova would be tracking our asses right now. Gamora, Peter and Cassius decided against coming in with us and harboured outside the bar. Cassius has the choice to go and do whatever he wants, and yet he is making boring decisions.

Drax eagerly shouts down at the number of reptiles crawling around at the table; the smaller ones scampering to the corners helplessly while the larger one advances towards its next prey. The last reptile to remain alive, excluding the predator, wins. I didn't place a bet on any, yet found it entertaining to be in a bar for the first time. The atmosphere was hot and stuffy, but I liked it because it was erotic.

After a final round of cheers, there is a pause in the crowd, and the predator bites down on the tail of a smaller reptile. The smaller reptile is flung shortly into the air and caught in the predator's mouth, downed in one swallow. Booming shouts of victory erupt from the crowd, while some others curse and slump away.

"Let's put more of this liquid in our bodies!" Drax shouts merrily over the crowd, raising his glass of liquor. Groot raises his glass to his mouth, and I only hope that it's not alcohol. Can trees drink alcohol? I should ask Cas- nevermind.

"That's the first thing you've said that wasn't that shit-crazy!" Rocket shouts back and raises his own glass.

As I open my mouth to refuse, I am interrupted by an abrupt voice from behind.

"To what do I owe pleasure? Ma'am, allow me to buy you a drink."

I turn around slowly, scanning the man who had made a polite offer. He looked and sounded Asgardian, although I could be wrong. He had tousled dark brown hair, which was thick and lustrous. His eyes were a mesmerising deep green, flecks of silvery light performed ballets throughout. His face was strong and defined, as well as his strongly built and muscular body. And he can't possibly be much older than I am. I can feel my face slowly heating up, and suddenly the sound of consuming alcohol isn't all that bad.

"My name?" I inquire loudly over the booming voices, redeeming myself out of the trance-like gaze and remembering that I was currently in a conversation. A smile is now etched on to his handsome features with amusement as I squirm under his gaze. Pull yourself together, Alenna, you've done this before.

"My name is Gamora." I lie fluently, although I shouldn't have chosen the name _Gamora_ since a lot of people aren't too pleased to hear it. After saying my 'name' he only seems merely alarmed. "And you must be?"

"Tvoin." He introduces clearly and reaches down for hand, gently planting a kiss against my knuckles.

A smirk begins to tug at my lips as he rises, and we stare at each other for a few moments.

The next thing I know, we are seated at a table enjoying glasses of alcohol and laughing at the most ridiculous things. Tvoin is surprisingly humorous and kind for an Asgardian; I had thought they were literal and boisterous, but it seems as though you do actually learn something new every day. And we can't exactly remain friends since we are from different eras. I have to keep reminding myself of that. I have to keep reminding myself that we actually need to get back.

I've never been drunk, or have even consumed alcohol before. The substance is strong and as it slides down your throat, and it creates a strong burning sensation yet is incredibly cold. My vision is only slightly blurry, and I do have the self-control to stop drinking anymore glasses. I look over to Tvoin who has drunken twice the amount that I have yet looks calm and collected. I raise my eyebrows.

My eyes then flit towards Rocket, Drax and Groot who are at the other side of the bar. I should probably see how they're going. I grab Tvoin's arm and he looks at me questionably. "I will be right back." I tell him in a strange rising and falling rhythm. For some reason he chuckles and shakes his head at me.

I slowly rise out of my seat and make my way to the small group, who I now notice are arguing. It takes a while to register in my drunken state, and as it does a frown forms on my face. They seemed really serious – this just wasn't any silly fight.

"Say it one more time freak, I dare you!" Rocket shouts furiously at Drax.

"You are a filthy vermin!" Drax repeats and rises out of his seat, the chair flying backwards and banging into the back wall.

Groot stands too, to protect his close companion, looking very irritated. It's hard to watch them fight like this so I finally decide to step in before anything horrible begins.

"Hey!" I raise my voice, and have the guts to step in between Groot and Drax. "Stop this nonsense!"

"And why should we be listening to a little girl like you?" Drax questions me.

"Little girl?!" I repeat. I've always been called a little girl, especially in current time. But I'm not!

"You shouldn't be messing with her! She's Gamora!" I hear a loud voice and turn to confirm that it was Tvoin. Now I'm officially screwed.

"Gamora, you say?" a male Sakaaran from the right begins and I bite down on my tongue.

"No, no – there seems to be some kind of mistake." I tell the man apologetically but he doesn't seem to believe me, although I am actually telling the truth now. I should really stop this lying habit.

"Ronan is looking for you." the Sakaaran tells me darkly and I feel my heart sink slightly. Not only because I was in some sort of trouble, but with the new knowledge of my mother previously working with Ronan the Accuser.

"You killed my father!" I hear a feminine voice yell. The crowds at the sidelines start to join in with agreeing mumbles, all scowling at me. Another person attempts to throw their glass at my head, but I duck in time. Tvoin has seemed to disappear somewhere. Great.

"I AM NOT GAMORA!" I yell, and everyone goes deadly silent.

After a short moment of silence, Drax speaks up again to return to where they had left off, "Vermin!"

Everything happens too fast; Drax lunges at Groot with a familiar knife in hand and they roll across the table, falling to the floor roughly. Drax throws continuous forceful punches at Groot and I cringe at the sight. Instead of fleeing, crowds cheer and shout. Some even place bets on who would win the fight. This is _horrible_.

"Groot!" I shout, and try to push my way through the tight crowd forming around me.

After some time, I find myself in the middle of all this mess. I try to grab Drax, but get thrown on the floor beside Groot. Pain soars up my spine and I groan, my vision blurring even more. Groot's arms grow around Drax's neck tightly, as a defence mechanism. Unfortunately Drax somehow tears the growing limbs off of his neck after some difficulty. That's when Rocket comes in to the equation, raising his giant gun at Drax's head.

I see Gamora push out of the crowds and grab Drax's neck, tugging him backwards. She places a hand at his chest to hold him back. Even though we all may be in major trouble, I feel relieved that she has come to stop all this madness. I'm suddenly grateful of my assassin/warrior mother since I wouldn't be able to put a stop to this fight myself.

Rocket reloads his gun and growls, continuing to aim at Drax. Peter jumps out from the crowd precipitously, "Whoa, whoa! What are you doing?!" he asks Rocket frantically, but Drax answers.

"This vermin speaks profoundly of affairs he knows nothing about!" Drax shouts down at Rocket.

"That is true!" Rocket exclaims, still holding his gun up.

"He has no respect!"

"That is also true!"

"Hold on!" Peter buts in, hastily raising a hand up at Rocket. Groot slowly stands up, placing a hand at his jaw uncomfortably. He looks down at me and offers a hand which I instantly take and rise to my own feet. I notice Cassius standing beside our mother, folding his arms at shaking his head at me. I choose to ignore him for once.

"Keep calling me vermin tough guy. You just want to laugh at me like everyone else!" Rocket says.

"Rocket, you're drunk, all right? No one is laughing at you." Peter says, making sure to keep a safe distance from Rocket's current fuming state. I've never seen him like this, _ever_.

Rocket points to Drax, "He thinks I'm stupid thing, he does!" he says and there is a pause of consideration of what he has to say.

"Well I didn't ask to get made." he glances at me for a brief moment. "I didn't ask to be torn apart and put back together over and over and turned into some… little monster!"

I feel sympathetic for Rocket. Watching him behave in this way saddened me. I never knew he was so sensitive on this topic although I barely know what had happened to him.

"Rocket, no one's calling you a monster..." Peter reassures Rocket.

"He called me vermin!" Rocket counters and points to Drax. "She called me rodent!" he then points to Gamora. "Let's see if you can laugh after five or six good shots in your freakin' face!" he finally finishes and draws his gun which makes a threatening whirling sound.

"No, no, no, no! FOUR BILLION UNITS!" Peter stands in front of Drax and raises his hands. Four billion units for what?

"C'mon man! Just suck it up for one lousy night and you're rich." Peter tells Rocket. And after a slow moment of silence, there is a metallic thud and Rocket's gun in dropped to the floor. "Fine." He says, and everyone releases the breath they were holding in.

"But I can't promise after all of this is over, I'm not going to kill one of you jerks."

"See! That is exactly why none you have any friends." Peter says and looks around at us – even me. "Five seconds after you meet someone you're already trying to kill them!"

I guess he's half right. I have a few friends, but I don't think that they're genuine friends. They're always urging me to usher my brother out of the room, go to all the most prestigious bars, and kiss all the boys. I need to start stand up for myself…

"I've travelled half-way around the quadrant, and Ronan is no closer to being dead." Drax says lowly and turns away, weaving in and out through the crowd.

"Drax!" Peter calls out to him, but he's already disappeared.

"Let him go." Gamora shakes her head. Groot waves a hand in dismissal, obviously not a bother that Drax had left. "We don't need him." Gamora tells Peter.

"Four billion units?" Cassius brings the topic back up and unfolds his arms with a frown. "You're all getting paid for this?" he asks with slight disbelief. I blink a few times with realisation, the alcohol still affecting my body.

They all go silent, and we do not need an explanation to know the truth.

"You didn't even bother to tell us…" I say quietly and frown, glancing towards Peter who averts his gaze to the floor.

"We will provide you both with a fraction of our wealth." Gamora assures us, but for some reason I don't feel any better.

Cassius shakes his head, "It's not about the units anymore. For one moment, I thought that we were actually a team. I thought that we were in this together. Isn't that right, Peter?" he questions but Peter doesn't say anything.

And for once, I agree with my idiotic brother.

Gamora opens her mouth to say something but a door to our right separates and reveals a pink skinned Krylorian woman wearing a cream colored dress and her hair in a pair of pigtails.

"Milady Gamora," the woman announces, obviously speaking to my 'mother'. "I have come to fetch you for my master." She says, and gestures to the door for us to follow.

We shall discuss these matters later, for we have finally approached the buyer for the Orb.

* * *

><p>"Okay, this isn't creepy at all." Rocket says, and doesn't even bother to tone it down.<p>

The room would have been dark if it wasn't filled with the glowing aura of the glass cages filled with fascinating objects and specimen. The cages are lined in rows, hung from the ceiling and walls in the most obscure way.

The Krylorian woman, who seems to be a slave to Gamora's dealer, walks in front of us with her hands firmly clasped in front in a formal manner. She seems to have robotic movements, and I wonder if she is actually a robot.

"We have the galaxy's largest collection of fauna, relics, and species of all sorts." She says. I look over to a cage with a Dark Elf slumped in the corner, and I am not too sure if he is still living.

The servant leads us through the long hallway, and past more strange cages. She comes to a stop beside a man working at a table, and then turns to us with one arm withering with introduction.

"I present to you, Taneleer Tivan. The Collector."

The man at the table turns around at the sound of his name, and is the strangest man I have ever looked at without a doubt. He was unlike anything I have ever seen before, but the weirdest thing is that he has a humanoid form; four correct limbs, no tentacles, no razor sharp teeth, nor horns. If anything, he was less alien that I was. It was just the way he dressed, the way he walked and soon I had found out – the way he talked.

"Oh my, dear Gamora…" he speaks strangely and raises her gloved hand slowly to his lips. "It is a pleasure to be your acquaintance." He goes on. For some reason I couldn't bring myself to look away at him; he had deeply tanned skin that contrasted to his slightly white hair that stood up on end, a black mark beginning from his lower lip and ending at his chin, and incredibly tired looking eyes.

"Let's bypass the formalities Tivan." Gamora tells Taneleer Tivan. Taneleer seems to notice my gaze, and looks at me with those dark looking eyes.

"We have what you asked for." Gamora says, but suddenly realised that he wasn't interested in what she had to say anymore because he had begun to stare strangely at me. My eyes widen and I quickly blink and clear my throat.

"I'm –" I begin to introduce, only to be interrupted by this strange and mysterious man.

The next this he says shocks me.

"I know, exactly… who you are." This proposed Collector tells us.

One question runs through my mind over and over: How?

Everyone's turned to Cassius and I simultaneously and I looked back up at this strange man who apparently knew who we were. He slowly started to walk towards us, each step making an echoing thud across the dark museum. I tried taking a small step back, only to bump backwards in to my brother who grunted in discomfort, and sidestepped besides me.

The Collector stands close to us both and up close he looks even wearier and more genuinely bored. His eyes flicker towards Cassius then back towards me as if he was sizing us up against each other. Cassius and I manage to share a quick glance before looking back to the Collector, who now had a ghost of a smirk etched on to his lips.

My heart beats fluently inside my ribs, vibrating throughout my entire body. How did this man know us, when we only just time travelled to this period? Surely, there must be some sort of an explanation for this.

"Tivan," Gamora impedes impatiently, and I sigh in relief. "We have travelled halfway around the galaxy. Are we trading, or what?"

"Very well then. Let us see what you brought." He turns and says to Gamora.

Peter fishes his hand inside of his pants' pockets, to present the Orb – yet drops it – and after some fumbling finally exposes it properly.

We are lead to the table by the pink-skinned servant, where we gather around and wait for a negotiable deal to occur. I just wanted to get out of here, out of this time period because I cannot stand it anymore. I want to live my normal life. I want to see my family again, the ones who won't betray me. I can't believe that I would actually want that, but I do.

"All my new friends," The Collector begins and I frown a little. He is very strange. "Before creation itself, there were six stones. Then the universe exploded into existence." He explains and pulls a lever built into the table. A holographic form of images are provided above us, and I can't help but stare up in fascination.

"The remnants of this explosion were forged into concentrated ingots. The Infinity Stones." He says and the hologram of the universe dissolve into separate parts to show the six different Infinity Stones. I glance suspiciously at The Orb on the table, which is now slightly separated but quickly dismiss my thoughts and return my attention to the holograms.

I repeat _six Infinity Stones_.

We only needed one. The Infinity Stone of Time – or the freakin yellow one as I'd like to call it.

"These stones it seems can only be controlled by beings of extraordinary strength. Observe." He says and gestures towards a different direction, where more holograms then appear.

A large robotic creature stands tall over many citizens wielding a golden staff with what seems to be an Infinity Stone.

"These kinds can use the stones to destroy entire civilisations."

I watch as a planet is consumed by a purple infused darkness in a matter of seconds and my eyes widen with utter shock.

"A group of members collaborated to control these Stones but even they couldn't demand the power within."

I had only thought the Infinity Stones were just some stupid artefacts that could do minor stuff – I didn't expect to hear that a single Infinity Stone could ruin an entire nation if used in the right hands… or should I say wrong hands? I wonder what Cassius was thinking of all this and I hope he remembered that we needed to find the Infinity Stone of Time still.

The Orb on the table expands into two separate parts to reveal a purple energy glowing in the middle and I gasp lightly and take a small step back.

_Whoa_.

The Collector does some strange arm gesture explaining excitement, although it was hard to tell since he continued to look incredibly bored. "Beautiful." He says and I bite down on my lip. Something tells me that something really, really bad is going to happen.

"Blah, blah, blah." Rocket pipes up boisterously. "We're all very fascinated whitey, but we'd like to get paid!" he mentions and intimidates The Collector's odd arm gesturing. The thoughts of their betrayal arise back in my mind and I scowl lightly. Suddenly the holograms above us disappear all at once.

"And how would you like to get paid?" The Collector asks lowly, obviously not fazed by Rocket's tone. Or anything at all in the matter.

"What do you think? Units!" Rocket shouts and The Collector begins to rummage through wooden drawers for the units.

The slave takes a cautious step closer towards the Orb, and I frown at her. "I will no longer be your slave!" she yells and it only takes a moment to process what she intends to do.

"Carina, no!" the Collector tells her.

In an instant, a purple flash of light explodes across the museum and everyone gets sent flying backwards. Objects are flying around everywhere, smashing into anything in their way. I can hear her piercing scream, but don't react since pain is emitting now from my leg. The explosion shudders throughout the entire building, sending materials and rubble ponding down at us.

I get grabbed by the collar and pushed back behind a table. The explosion takes a while to settle down, but the damage it has done is awful. I don't even realise my eyes are squeezed shut until someone shakes my shoulder. It's Gamora. I just look at her, a little speechless. The lights flicker out of existence, and I can only make out shapes. Suddenly, the pain and blood forming above my ankle doesn't hurt too much.

So that's what an Infinity Stone can do.

"What the fuck." Peter whispers, peeking up from the table to observe the colossal damage it had done.

The three of us get up hastily to collect the Infinity Stone on the table. But it gets a little problematic when it's not even there.

"Where did it do? It was right there!" I say to my 'parents'.

"The others must have taken it before we could." She assures herself and we head outside in a mad frenzy.

"How could I think that Taneleer could contain an Infinity Stone?!" Gamora says and shudders.

As we finally reach the outdoors, the Infinity Stone did not only cause damage to the inside but the outside looks as if a war had just happened while we were gone. It is easy to spot Rocket and Groot who create a fair distance between them and the remains of the museum. They seemed to be all okay, all of us did. Wait a second. Where's Cassius?

"I can't believe you had the Orb in your purse!" Rocket whines and points towards Peter's leather purse strapped around his neck.

"It's not a purse, it's a knapsack!" Peter negotiates.

"Rocket, do you currently have the Orb with you?" Gamora asks urgently and Rocket looks almost offended by this. "I'm not going anywhere near that freakin' thing!" he shakes his head.

There is a pause of silence and I have a rough idea of what is going on right now.

"Cassius."

* * *

><p><em>Third Person<em>

"Destroy them." A booming voice announces, sending ripples throughout the atmosphere. "They are betraying, selfish and unworthy."

"And what is in it for me?"

There is a dramatic and eerie pause for a short moment. The booming voice inhales a deep breath before speaking again.

"Power. Is that not what you crave?" the deep voice asks.

"It is a deal."

A familiar looking face slowly raises his head; shadows of the moonlight that had once cast over his features now disappear. A smirk slowly tugs at the corners of his mouth.

"Good. Deliver them to me…_Dead_, Cassius Quill."

"It will be my honest pleasure, Thanos." Cassius answers lowly and begins to chuckle.

* * *

><p><strong>A little rushed at the end but I just had to post this before I went to sleep! Sorry about errors! What are you thinking of Cassius right now? The Collector? Predictions? Tell me what you're thinking in your review.<strong>

**Thanks for reading by the way!**


	7. Chapter Seven

_Cassius's POV_

This hadn't always been my plan from the beginning.

The explosion had been so unanticipated, so surreal. My back was forced into one of the glass cages, which had then showered me with millions of tiny sharp pieces. I was almost crushed by falling debris, and my foot had been temporarily caught between partially demolished materials. I was supposed to run but as soon as I had seen the Orb sitting unsupervised at the table, I had to take it. The metal was cold and smooth in my fingertips, and I traced the patterned details with curiosity.

Sure, I have always wanted the Infinity Stones but I treated the matters as fantasies – nothing more and nothing less. But the situation I was thrown upon was real and it was simple.

I had known about all the Infinity Stones ever since I could read. My parents could have stopped me if they hadn't provided me with the restricted books. They had been so daft and uncaring in my childhood, always treasuring Alenna as if she was perfect. When they had found out about her little fling, they didn't even seem that upset yet when I create petty accidents it's a big deal. But maybe I am an accident myself. They even said so themselves.

The Collector, who was apparently devastated by the damage thrust upon his museum (he lacks facial expression), had caught me escaping with the Stone. I had expected some form of punishment, but instead he offered me help. Before anything else, I asked how he knew of my existence. He answered mysteriously, saying that he and others had been 'expecting' us. What did that mean? I needed to dwell on it later.

I had then been taken to a powerful titan by the name of Thanos. Thanos, known as the Dark Lord by his most loyal underlings and dubbed as the Mad Titan by the galactic communities, is a powerful cosmic warlord who rules over a distant region of space and commands many under his power. Not only did he want the Orb, he wanted me as an assassin under his rule.

He is putting me to the test – if I can destroy the Guardians of the Galaxy, I will be granted with unlimited power in current time. Thanos explained how the Infinity Stone of Time works correctly; like a reset switch. Back in current time, the Guardians of the Galaxy will not be destroyed, and they will not remember me or Alenna from this time period. I'm not doing this for the power or for Thanos and his goons, I want vengeance. First, I have to complete this task.

And if I didn't:

"…_You will have the power you selfishly desire, Cassius. But if you fail, if the Guardians remain, there will be no realm, no time period, and no crevice where I can't find you. You think you have experienced dread before? I will make you long for something as sweet as dread…"_

I had always thought logic would help me avoid these sorts of situations, but once fear finally overtakes you there's no going back.

I had learnt that he adopted my mother. Speaking of which, my so-called family has kept too many secrets from me and Alenna to the point where my life is almost fabricated. Even before us, they have never really been _good_ people as I've discovered. We agreed to help them, in return for them to help us. And yet, they betray us by hiding another secret. They hadn't even apologized, not that it would make a difference anyway. You know, it's kind of hard to trust someone when you don't know who that someone really is anymore.

The only downside of Thanos's mission was to collaborate with Ronan the Accuser and a female assassin named Nebula, _the sister of Gamora_.

I can only wonder what other dirty secrets my family concealed.

One thing I know is I will never trust them again. I will never accept or forgive them. They can attempt to make things better with their wealth, allow me to do anything I desired, and soak me in apologies. But I knew I'd have to make them pay, make them more sorry, make them feel the pain they'd put me through my entire life. So I'd take their wealth, enjoy my privileges, store the continuous apologises, but I'd be plotting their punishment all the while. In fact, I already have a plan.

They can't stop me now, even if they tried.

* * *

><p>I had been escorted to a major sized Necrocraft where Ronan, Nebula and I lead a flock of soldiers to Knowhere. We had been summoned by an anonymous call, being practically forced to travel there. In some ways, I wished for my family to still be there so they can see what I have become and in other ways I hoped for them not to be there.<p>

I had been provided with new attire for battle. It was made of thick black leather, and contained a dark metallic face-mask that could be activated on and off. I could see through a long strip of dark shaded glass when it was on, and was quite handy at times. I injected myself with the power of the Orb, with no second thoughts. It was incredibly painful and I could have died, but for some reason did not. It was worth it though. No one knows that I have the Orb except the Collector, and I can only hope he doesn't tell Thanos or anyone else.

Nebula is a cerulean-skinned Luphomoid woman, with skilfully built cybernetic enhancements making her look almost part robotic…which she may possibly be. She had black pupiless eyes, and a hair-lacking head. She had weapons such as knives linked to her belt, something that she didn't exactly hide so well. I noticed her frown deepen when I continued to stare at her, so I smirked in return.

Ronan also had a blue skin pigment, and I could define him as Kree by taking a closer look at his armour. Black war paint covered his face partially, and his eyes were the opposite of my own; his were dark and bottomless while mine were vibrant and purple, reflecting the aura of the Orb. Unlike Nebula, he didn't glare but stared back menacingly. I have to admit he did frighten me… only slightly.

I am supposed to follow my two 'supervisors' orders the whole time, but we didn't seem to be getting along so well and we've only been with each other for a few minutes.

"You are an idiotic Terran!" Nebula growls in her nasty mechanical voice.

"I am not a Terran." I say calmly, and can't help but smirk a little. I was actually part Terran, but I knew nothing of my culture or people except that they liked music, so I do not consider myself part of their race in general.

"You look Terran."

"What if I'm Xanderian?" I question her, but at this Ronan slowly turns his head towards me. "Kidding." I assure him quickly, and nod. I have to remember that Ronan despises Xander, and I think I do too.

"Consider yourself lucky, Cassius, for if you were not in Thanos's favour you'd be dead!" Nebula threatens lowly.

"It isn't exactly easy to murder someone who has magic."  
>"Don't flatter yourself."<br>"I wasn't, it's a common fact."  
>"Stated by whom?"<br>"Me, that's who!"  
>"After all this nonsense is over, I'm –"<p>

"ENOUGH!" Ronan shouts at the both of us, and we step away from each other yet continue to glare. The pair of Sakaaran guards in the room jump slightly.

"Any more ridiculous arguments and the both of you will be dead." He states deeply.

"I thought we just discussed that?" I raise my eyebrows. He gives me a dangerous and sharp look, but I just smile at him. If he killed me, Thanos would be after him.

"We have reached our destination." Ronan mutters dismissively, and walks towards the control panel plastered in the wall.

Nebula scrapes past me, turning back with a glare, "This isn't over." She says quietly, before walking beside Ronan. I stare at her back with narrowed eyes. She is mother's adoptive sister so technically she is supposed to be my aunt. Wow.

The wall in front of us folds into a door and rises, exposing the scenery of Knowhere. Before walking through the door and down the stairs, I activate my mask and follow the pair of imbecile leaders. Guards follow behind us.

Drax. _They_ are here.

"Ronan the Accuser!" I hear his voice rattle through the silence, and he held a pair of sharp looking daggers. At this, I knew he meant trouble. He wanted revenge for what Ronan had done to him.

"You are the one who transmitted the message?" Ronan asks, slowly approaching Drax from a distance.

"You killed my wife. You killed my daughter!" Drax shouts, raising his daggers. Luckily, he couldn't recognise me under this mask. I mean, no one could.

A few flying crafts zoom over our head and Nebula takes a few steps forward and looks back, to get a better view of the ships. "It is Gamora. She is escaping with the Orb." Nebula states, and turns to the guards. "Follow her!" she yells sharply and begins to head inside the ship. Should I tell them that I have the Orb? Better not.

I follow Nebula but she turns to stop me. "You – stay here." She commands and I frown under the mask but obey.

Ronan chuckles at Drax and simply turns, walking towards me. Drax doesn't seem too happy about this, and runs towards Ronan with his daggers unsheathed ready to slice off Ronan's head. Ronan ducks and knocks the knife out of Drax's hand. The battle begins.

Instead of staying and observing the eventful fight, I choose to continue my mission. I needed to find the Guardians of the Galaxy and destroy them. As I walk, crowds of innocent bystanders scream and run at the sight of me, and I can't help but smirk at this newfound fear.

A small group of people are linked together, and stand in my way with scowls. "We will not let you destroy our planet!" a man at the front shouts, standing his ground confidently. He wore ripped clothing and had dirt streaked over his face. He looked Xanderian.

"My intentions are not to destroy this lousy excuse of a planet." I speak darkly, the mask making my voice sound lightly mechanic. The group continues to stand in my way. "I strongly suggest you relocate your positions before any…accidents happen."

"You mean war!" a blue-skinned man shouts, and the crowd mumbles in agreement. I clench my teeth beginning to get impatient. "None of us shall die!" he says.

Raising my hand sharply, I push the growing crowd around us back with my telepathic abilities and move forward to the man who had spoken recently, grabbing him by the collar. Gasps emerge and some people begin to flee. I watch as the man squirms under my insanely powerful grip, thanks to the new power I possess from the Orb.

"If I were you, I'd watch that mouth of yours." I growl dangerously.

"You speak largely for a foreigner. At least I will die knowing I was respected and not feared." he chokes out and my gript on his thin shirt tightens.

"Everyone dies, friend. It's your turn today."

I conjure a transparent knife in my hand, that usually had been blue tinted but is now purple. In a flash, I shove the knife deeply into his neck and throw him heavily to the ground. In his intense silence he somehow screamed with his whole body. The eyes wide with horror, the mouth rigid and open, his chalky face gaunt and immobile, the fists clenched with blanched knuckles, and the nails digging deeply into the palms of his hand.

Everyone else remaining in the area begun to scream and ran overlapping directions.

I plant my foot heavily down on his chest and smoothly kneel down to his almost lifeless face, deactivating my mask to stare him in the eyes as he slipped away from reality. "Being feared is a privilege." I whisper and he grabs my foot, trying to swat me off but I push down harder which causes him to choke, blood slowly pooling in his mouth. He then freezes, and the glistening life in his eyes disappears.

I activate my mask once more and step away from the now dead body. I just killed a person for the first time. I try not to think much of it and move on, noticing that the streets were less populated than before.

I felt my leather pockets for the Orb, and sighed with relief as it was still there. The Guardians could not have travelled too far, for this planet wasn't exactly the largest. Thanos's words burned in my mind, updating the fresh memory of my future if I do not obey. I just needed to keep looking.

I feel unstoppable.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey! Shorter chapter than usual but I had to cut it here because I'm not very good at writing in the villain's perspective. Just in case you had forgotten, this is the part of the movie where Ronan, Nebula and the Ravagers are caught up with the Guardians at Knowhere and things get messy.<strong>

**If you're having trouble picturing Cassius and Alenna, there are links on my profile to visual representations of them.**

**Thanks for reading! **

**Review, Favourite, Follow! :)**


	8. Chapter Eight

_Alenna's POV_

I wanted myself to believe that Cassius hadn't taken the Orb.

My brother has always been mildly rough, but he wouldn't go as far as stealing an Infinity Stone. If he were here he would probably say to steal the Stone would be stupid, in some smarter way of course. There are a number of different scenarios that could have happened resulting in the disappearance of my brother and the Orb at the exact same time. Maybe he got kidnapped and the kidnappers took the Orb, or maybe he went back to the Milano and The Collector stored the Orb.

But none of those scenarios fit right. And I'm slowly starting to believe that he has taken the Stone.

But why? Sure, it is incredibly powerful but there has to be other reasons. Why would he betray, not only me, but his own family like that? Does he realise that he could possibly ruin our future realities?

I tried convincing Peter to help me find Cassius, but Peter refused and had said there were other matters to deal with first. We have been a little rocky since the minor units affair, but I'm hoping to mend that.

Cassius didn't take the Orb, but everyone is saying that he has.

Right now, I should really be focusing on the war that has been struck upon us, thanks to Drax. He called on Ronan the Accuser and his armies, and to make matters worse Yondu and the Ravagers have come to find my father. Would everything be as bad as this even if Cassius and I weren't here?

All the people and citizens that have once crowded the streets have fled to safety, and everything is really quiet. The amount of damage is moderate, well at least in this area. It seems kind of peaceful actually. But I am nowhere near to finding Cassius and our way out of this time period.

"I am Groot." I feel a branch sweep over my arm, and it takes some time to register that it is Groot. The two of us had been abandoned here after everyone left in industrial pods, and Drax disappeared somewhere – most likely to have a vengeful fight with Ronan.

"Hey Groot." I reply in a smaller voice, and slowly look up to him.

He gave me a sympathetic caring look and grunted. Even though he can't say much and I never have an idea what those words mean, he made me feel slightly better about what was going on right now.

My brother; the one who has stood by my side ever since I could remember, the one that I could always somehow trust, that one that actually knows me is gone. And as much as I hate to admit it, I miss him. I miss the smart-ass who commented and judged my every move yet somehow made me feel safe and as if I belonged. But what if he did take the Infinity Stone?

"I am Groot." Groot says and begins walking to the right. Rocket told us to stay here, "_exactly in this spot, otherwise I'll kill you myself_."

"Groot? Where are you going?" I shout after him, not exactly expecting an answer. I quickly catch up to him and struggle to match his large strides. He was walking towards the barriers holding the Celestial's yellow spinal fluids.

I decide not to ask any more questions and just observe what he intended to do. Groot dips his hands into the thick liquid and I frown, but continue to watch. It seems as though he is pulling an object from the yellow liquid.

It's Drax.

What is he doing in here? Is he okay? "Drax!" I shout, hoping for a reaction but receiving nothing but silence. I bite the insides of my mouth, reopening my previous wounds when we were back at the prision. Groot places Drax's limp body gently on the floor and I begin to grow more anxious.

"Groot, I'll get help." I say, my voice clearly shaking, and begin to run off in the opposite direction until he pulls me backwards with one of his growing arm branches. I get flung to the floor, now besides Drax. What is Groot doing?!

Groot recoils his arm back into its normal state, and lowers to Drax's level. A single wooden finger sharpens in growth, looking awfully similar to a dagger. I gasp with shock, and squeeze my eyes shut. Was he going to kill Drax? He can't! He's Groot! Causing me to open my eyes, Drax begins choking loudly and it is then I realise that Groot is helping Drax by clearing the pathway of his oesophagus. I sigh in relief and push myself up off the ground, mindlessly brushing dirt off my clothing.

Drax continues to cough up the yellow fluids until he is able to breathe and move, so Groot removes his sharpened finger from Drax's chest. "Drax," I say breathlessly, and place a hand to my heart. Thank goodness he is okay. I help him up slightly, propping his body against a nearby seat. I instantly notice that he is wounded on his arm; the mud and grit had become enmeshed with raw flesh and was pooling with sticky blood. What did Ronan do to him? One thing was for sure, it was going to be very painful to clean.

Before I could do anything, suddenly an industrial pod comes crashing down, interrupting the peace of the street and sending a thick dirt cloud into the atmosphere. I cough and squint through the dirt until it resides. The door of the industrial pod almost fall off its hinges as it is roughly opened and out staggers a familiar looking creature, Rocket.

"Idiots! They're all idiots!" he shouts, his loud and grouchy voice echoing throughout the space.

"Any sign of Cassius?" I wonder hopefully, ignoring his first statement. Rocket falls over the steps of the industrial pod and lands in the dirt, "No! That bastard is probably partying with Ronan and Thanos." He says, picking himself up and my face falls. Everyone keeps speaking harshly of my brother now, even though they have no proof of what he has done.

"I am Groot." Groot speaks, and of course only Rocket can understand him.

"Quill just got himself captured!" Rocket answers to Groot, and my jaw clenches.

"Can this get any worse?" I mumble and rub my temples tenderly with my fingertips. Brother gone, parents captured, and stuck in a time period I don't belong in.

"None of this would have happened if you tried to single-handedly take on a _freakin' army_!" Rocket shouts at Drax. I place my hands on Drax's shoulders, hoping to calm him before he got angry. All we need is another brutal argument.

"You're right," Drax says and we all pause in shock for a moment. Drax, admitting to his mistakes and agreeing with Rocket? It is unheard of. There is a moment of silence and I loosen my grip on his shoulders.

"I was a fool…" he says quietly. "All that anger, all that rage was just to recover from my loss."

I pat down on his shoulder lightly. It must have been tough to have lost your family like that. I can barely imagine a life with my family and my brother. Even though they're freaks, I love them.

"Oh, boo-hoo-hoo, my wife and family are dead!" Rocket interrupts the silence mockingly. Groot gasps, bringing a wooden hand to his face. My jaw drops at Rocket.

"Every body's got dead people! It's no excuse to get everybody else dead along the way!"

Although his words are harsh, they are seemingly true and I must agree with Rocket. I want my par- Gamora and Peter back. I look over to Drax and sigh lightly, glancing down to his wound which continued to provide glistening blood. I tear off some material on my sleeve, and messily wrap and knot it around his wound for now. He looks to me, as if wondering why I would ever want to help him.

"C'mon Groot…" Rocket says roughly. "Ronan has the Stone. The only chance we got is to get to the other side of the universe as fast as we can and maybe, just maybe we'll be able to live full lives before that rat-job ever gets there." He explains to Groot. I look up to Rocket and stare and I can tell he is trying to avoid my gaze.

"I am Groot!" Groot growls viciously at Rocket. Whatever he is saying, I can tell he is not happy with his companion.

"Save them? How?" Rocket asks Groot cluelessly.

"I am Groot." Groot repeats deeply and stands to his full height. It is only on rare occasions that I see Groot stand up to Rocket.

"But there is an army of Ravagers behind them, and there are only two of us." Rocket counters back.

I stand to my feet, and pull Drax up with me. "Four." I say lowly. Rocket looks at me for the first time during this conversation, but this is not an accomplishment to be proud of. He growls and tugs at his ears furiously as he spins around. He removes his hands and begins to kick a grass stump with frustration.

"You're making –" _Thump_. "Me-" _Thump._ "Kick up-" _Thump. _"Grass!" _Thump_.

I shake my head and lower myself to Rocket's level. He turns around, panting and frowning at me. "Rocket," I begin and his frown weakens. "If we save Gamora and Peter we can also save the galaxy." I tell him.

"I'm not seeing the point to your explanation." He says and I glare. I had to remind myself that this was Rocket, and it was going to be difficult to cooperate. I look back at Drax and Groot and lean closer to Rocket.

"Save them, please." I whisper, and widen my eyes. This always worked on my parents, so I'm only hoping it will work on Rocket.

He takes a deep breath, and holds in it before finally deciding on his answer, "Fine, whatever."

A bright grin flashes over my face and I pull his small body in to a tight hug, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Whoa, whoa okay I'll help you! Please stop huggin' me, it's embarrassing." Rocket grumbles and pushes away from the hug, and then looks up and down the street to see if anyone had witnessed my action of affection.

* * *

><p>Rocket's plan did seem doubtful. We had powered up the Milano and weapons, and located the Ravager's ship where Rocket told us that Gamora and Peter were captured. I had helped Rocket quickly put together a suit out of some scrap metal pieces he found at an abounded and slightly destroyed shop in Knowhere. Drax volunteered to use the suit we had created. We were to shoot the ship to gain their attention and threaten them to hand Gamora and Peter over or we will be forced to destroy them. The four of us mildly agreed on the time limit of five seconds. In a way, I guess you can say our plan succeeded although Peter had already claimed to 'figure it out'.<p>

Right now, we harboured in the Ravager's ship. We began arguing a lot over the fact that blowing up the Ravager's ship did not technically count as saving Gamora and Peter but I think that is bullshit. Now they're just being selfish.

Apparently Peter had a plan to regain the Orb and find my brother.

"But Quill…Stopping Ronan, it's impossible. You're asking us to die?" Rocket asks softly and I tense my jaw. We are not going to die, but what if Cassius and I had unknowingly altered this reality?

Peter looks to the floor for a moment and looks up, meeting my eyes for a moment. He thinks I'm so young, he thinks I am just going to throw my life away just to help him. I am not throwing my life away, I dedicating my life to helping them and getting out of this time period.

"Yeah." Peter finally answers Rocket's question. Even though I expected him to say yes, I felt a pang of shock. Peter shakes his head and turns around with his head in his hands.

Travelling in to the future doesn't guarantee you immunity, meaning in which there is a chance where I will die. I will die. I shouldn't do this.

"Quill," Gamora speaks which catches his attention and he turns around to face us once more. "I have spent my life surrounded by my enemies." She says. I never would have expected Gamora to refuse.

"But I will be grateful to die among friends." she finishes and I look back up. I can't smile or look gloomy, so I just frown.

"I am honoured to help Quill." Drax states and pushes himself out of his seat. "I will fight beside you, and in the end I will see my wife and daughter again." He says with a light smile. I begin frowning even more. This isn't right.

Next Groot stands, saying the only words he can say: "I am Groot."

We all turn to Rocket, who is staring at Groot with an expression I cannot place.

"How in the hell, I don't got that long of a lifespan anyway." Rocket mumbles and finally stands to his feet on top of the metallic box he was once sitting on.

I am still sitting.

"Alenna?" Peter acknowledges.

I look to floor feeling my eyes sting, and slowly shake my head. I cannot just give up like this though; my brother is still out there. I cannot end my life here, and not only for my own sake. I look back up to my family who stared back hopefully. Patiently, for my answer that could possibly change our lives forever.

I open my mouth to say something, anything, but no words will form. I clear my throat and take a shallow breath and then gradually stand to my feet.

"Okay."

* * *

><p><em>Zip<em>.

"What do you think?" I ask a small group of Ravagers but they don't say anything, all they can do is stare. My eyes grow wide and I touch my face frantically, "What? What is it?" I mutter.

Maybe this new outfit idea wasn't the best. I was offered the traditional red Ravager uniform which is claimed to be greater for the use of battle. It is a skin tight dark red suit, with a little gold insignia pinned below my right shoulder. It can hold up to several knives or daggers and is made with a more flexible material. I am starting to think that I have put it on wrong.

One Ravager shakes his head, "Nothing is wrong."

I frown and place my hands on my hips. Were they lying to me?

I can see someone push through the crowd, "Hey man, move. Does anyone know where Kraglin -" Peter begins to speak but as he reaches the front of the small crowd, he pauses in his step and looks me up and down.

"What?!" I exclaim furiously.

"I think you need you need this." Peter says and takes off his own red Ravager jacket, holding it out to me. I've seen him wear it before but he never lets anyone touch it because he says it's cursed or something, but I knew it was only to scare us away from wearing it. Maybe because he took it on so many dangerous journeys – like this one for example, and that's why it's so precious to him.

Wait a second. Then why is he giving it to me?

I look back down to the jacket, "I-I couldn't." I refuse. He rolls his eyes up and scoffs, throwing it to me anyway.

"Anyone seen Kraglin?" he repeats and walks off, completely unfazed by the situation. In the distance I can hear someone answer him.

I hold the jacket tighter and bite down on my tongue. He was giving me his jacket? I smile down at the leather material before actually putting it on. It felt strange, but I can adjust. In addition, it has his aroma; a crisp earthy masculine scent that reminded me of home.

"Somebody get that boy some common sense!" Yondu shouts over the crowd referring to Peter. I have only met Yondu once, when I was a child. I can't remember much of him, but he seemed nice enough during this time. He actually likes my sense of humour. Yondu suddenly catches my eye and walks over to me, scanning over my outfit with a frown. I raise my brows and take a step back, feeling incredibly intimidated.

"Alenna," he begins, and his eyes flicker to the jacket I now wear. I tug on to it tightly; I didn't want to take it off. He frowns at me, as if trying to work something out. "You really remind me of Quill, girly." He tells me and clamps a hand down on my shoulder.

"That a good thing, sir?" I ask, smirking slightly.

"Very funny. Horuz," Yondu calls out "Get this lady some new weapons, the best of our bargain. She deserves it." He says and nods, patting my shoulder once last time before walking off to finish up some other deeds.

"Huh." I smile lightly to myself.

* * *

><p><strong>I had to finish this chapter there otherwise it would drag out for too long. I'm sorry if it's not exciting, but I can't alter that part – sometimes there has to be a few talking parts here and there. I can promise you though, that the next chapter will be filled with more action considering it's Cassius's POV.<strong>

**Anyway, what did you guys think of this chapter? Looking forward to a few sibling battles?**

**Favorite****, Follow, Review :)**


	9. Chapter Nine

_Cassius's POV_

"You are a foolish boy!" Ronan accuses darkly, and takes a step forward to me. I take a series of steps back to keep a fair distance. All I need is to be in a fight with Ronan, but I still feel the need to at least explain to him.

"Actually, _she_" I begin to say and nod my head to Nebula in the corner. "Only told me to stay back. Nothing specific, am I correct?" I question and arch a brow. "Besides, you're not allowed to touch me. Thanos will be after you." I remind them both, although I think that doesn't exactly restrain them from punishing me. They _will_ find their ways.

Back on Knowhere I had gotten myself in to quite a lot of trouble for leaving Ronan's side. It took them a while to find me and when they did…they were not happy. They are incredibly serious, and are quite severe with punishments. In fact, I'm quite surprised that they haven't even harmed me. Yet.

Ronan stares me intensively with his cold hard eyes, and I feel a burning rush shiver down my spine but manage to show no sign of fear. He picks up his Kree war-hammer that has been leaning up against the wall, and takes gradual steps towards me with dark narrowed eyes. I feel for the knife latched on to my belt, and suck in a deep breath.

"You dare oppose me?" He asks lowly, pausing in his step. He raises his hammer, placing the head of the weapon in his other hand threateningly.

I decide not to answer, but can't help but smirk lightly. I only hope he doesn't notice.

He then continues to walk towards me with slow and steady steps, stopping right in front of me and twists his war-hammer around in his hands with ease. I can't keep my eyes off of that thing, and him turning it like that as if it were nothing. As if it couldn't blast me to bits in seconds. "Your spontaneous idiocy and egotistical nature will not take you far, at least with me Terran. After Xandar has endured the torment they deserve, after all this is over," he speaks and I back up, finding myself leaning against the steel wall.

"I will be sure to see you." He finishes harshly. He raises his hammer and slams it against the space beside my head. I stop smirking. Feeling threatened, I try and grab for the handle of my knife once more but accidently grab a cold and round object.

The Orb.

"What is that?" Nebula asks instantly, her eyes trained on the object in my hand. She begins to walks closer to me.

I am fucked.

Ronan stops staring at me and averts his gaze to the Orb. His hammer slides off the wall, and is dropped neatly to his side. I freeze and can't force my joints to move, or at least conjure a spell to mask the Orb.

"Where did you find this?" Ronan growls and removes the Orb from my hands, turning away from me to take a closer look at it.

"I don't know what it is." I attempt to lie to him.

"TELL ME! Where did you find the Orb?" Ronan shouts and stares with much hatred and strength that makes me fear him even more. He knows I am lying.

I sigh and look to the floor. What do I say?

"I found the Orb with Gamora, and her loyal followers." I answer. That is half-true. If they find out that I had taken it from Taneleer, one of their goons, I will not be freed without sanction.

"_Gamora_." Ronan seethes dangerously. "Nebula, prepare my armies instantly." He orders and Nebula nods once yet doesn't make a move to leave the room. Then Ronan turns to look at me. "And as for you, Cassius," he begins, and looks down to the Orb in his hands. He opens it up, exposing the pure magenta colored stone. I can already predict what is going to happen.

He snatches the stone and the power absorbs in him, much better than it did with me. He doesn't even scream. The purple flow of endless power rushes around him and I move away to watch from a distance. I can hear Nebula gasp faintly. The purple light radiates and bounces across the entire room, causing me to squint. Finally the aura of the Orb halts altogether. His eyes open, now bright and purple, similar to mine and paired with an evil smirk. He looks up to me and slowly shuts the Orb.

"You will receive punishment."

I tense my jaw and Nebula looks to me with an expressionless face. She hurries out of the room to complete her task, or to escape out of minor fear. Either one, I'd do the same.

"Is this a fight you are looking for?" I ask, hoping something interrupts his poisonous plans to battle me.

He picks up his war hammer and walks towards me. "Barely," he says but swings his hammer towards me. I duck quickly, and the hammer is swiped down at my feet so I am forced to fall. "Think of it more as a one-way war." He tells me and smirks.

I now feel the pain shoot up my ankles and cringe. It feels like fire being ignited at my feet, slowly spreading up towards my legs. This gives Ronan the chance to attack me again, but I still have enough strength to block his hammer's hit with my projected shield. He looks at my shield feeling merely challenged, but that expression of concentration is replaced with one of cruelty.

He raises his hammer above his head and heavily slashes it down on my shield, continuing to hold it there with an evil smirk. My eyes widen, as I notice the slight crack in my sorcery. Ronan was already powerful without the Orb, but with it he is my worst nightmare.

"You cannot harbour behind your pathetic protection forever. Face me, like the fool you are!" Ronan shouts, his voice sounding muffled from behind the shield. He raises his hammer once more and lashes harshly against my shield again. The crack seems to be getting bigger and I hold my breath, forcing myself to hold this up for as long as possible. I feel a cold substance running across my lips and realise my nose is bleeding. I'll probably pass out before he breaks it. In fact, I think I'd prefer that option.

I need to get up, I need to keep fighting. I am not a fool. I am not weak!

I force myself up and release the shield. Ronan chuckles lowly and steps towards me. We begin to fight. His moves are very swift and it seems as though he is lacking effort, while I am trying my hardest. He ducks under my swings skilfully and counters back with twice the power. I grab his arm and attempt to twist it but he is much stronger. He grabs me by my collar and throws me to the wall. I would use my magic but it shall only make me weaker.

If only Alenna were here… Wait – no. I do not need her. What am I thinking?

I groan and try to push myself back up but I cannot. The fire-like burn has spread all over my body, so hot that it actually feels cold. Is this what real pain feels like? Ronan looks down at me and raises his hammer one last time.

"This is what you get for your act of betrayal." He says, and is about to whack me with his powerful hammer. I don't close my eyes, but glare at him as he is about to harm me.

"Wait!" Nebula yells, running from the doorway, frantically pushing guards out of her way. At first I think she is here to protect me, but then I remember that she would never do a thing like that. "We have enemies on our radar. It seems to be Ravagers." She speaks, panting lightly.

This finally catches Ronan's attention and he takes a step back from me, turning to Nebula with his hammer lowered. We all stare at the tall grand window, which had once presented the peaceful looking sky. There are now smaller ships circling ours. They form in a one large group, and then suddenly all shoot together which projects a hot orange glow towards the window. They mean to attack. I grab on to the wall and slowly pull myself up. I look around the room, finding Ronan's throne, and gradually stumble behind there for safety.

Nebula spins around, yelling harsh orders into her earpiece. Ronan swoops around in the opposite direction, obviously forgetting about me.

Ronan had just beaten me, and he wasn't even trying. I wonder how many years he took in training, and who he took training from. The mere thought frightened me – How would have it been if he was actually trying? If it wasn't for this attack, I would be seriously injured.

This doesn't stop my motives though. It is a slight 'bump' during a long journey. I will get the Stone back.

* * *

><p>I waited for a majority of the soldiers leave the main room before dragging myself away from the throne.<p>

I find a medical kit at the lower levels of the ship and sort through all their bottled liquids and bandages until I find what I need. Parrimeyer liquid; a clear black substance that restores health levels and includes an extra shot of adrenaline, which may or may not be safe to use especially with the usage of Orb. I sip from the glass bottle anyway, taking my chances. As soon as the liquid is in contact with my lips I feel much, much better at first. My head aches though and I can feel blood being pumped rapidly throughout my body.

I slam the medical kit shut and kick it away. I stand taller, now that the burning sensation in my body has finally disappeared. I click on my mask that I had almost forgotten about, and run to the higher level of the ship. I don't want to be in the main room, where Ronan and Nebula are most likely to be right now so I run down a corridor and take a few random turns.

I find myself running into the weaponry storage room. There isn't much light, and there are many shelves and glass podiums to showcase the finest of weaponry. Do I need anything? I ponder for a short moment in thought, my eyes flitting across the shelves for any useful items. My gaze stops at an array of large and powerful looking guns. Guns have never been my main speciality, always Alenna and Rocket's. I look away and take a few more steps inside the room to check if I could use anything better. There are swords, knives, and even a bow and arrow but nothing really catches my eye.

Expect for one thing. In a glass case is a golden glove with hollow carvings in the knuckles and at the middle. What is that? I walk a little closer to it, remaining very cautious. There is nothing special about this glove, and I do not understand why there are numerous hollow oval carvings.

"Attack them you buffoon, or I will kill you myself!" I hear Nebula's wicked voice shout at someone in the distance. I react quickly and back up at the wall, hoping she does not enter this room. Luckily though, she does not. I hear her hurries footsteps walk past the door and wait for a few moments afterwards.

I really need to stop getting distracted. I need to get that Orb back but the only thing is, is that it's with Ronan. It's not going to leave Ronan.

I sigh and walk out of the room, attempting to look casual. The ship rocks slightly and I frown. What is going on out there? How many Ravagers are there? My pace quickens and I suddenly halt.

It's them. Peter, Alenna, Drax, and Groot. No Rocket? No Gamora? I shouldn't be surprised to see them here, but I am. They are fighting a small group of Sakaarans they had bumped in to and I decide to watch for the first few moments.

Alenna is different. She isn't wearing her normal black suit, but instead she is wearing the maroon colored Ravager's clothing, including a familiar looking jacket. Her hair is tied up high with elastic and she looks more focused than ever as she kicks a Sakaaran solider in the head with her leather boot. On her belt are various guns, most likely designed by Rocket. I don't think her attire makes her different though. She holds herself with a sense of confidence and newly found power.

"You will never reach Ronan." Korath the Purser scowls down at Drax after throwing him to the floor.

If they reach Ronan first, then they'll take the Orb.

My eyes widen under the mechanic mask I wear, and I find myself joining in. Instead of attacking the group of Sakaarans and Korath, I attack Alenna. If she is injured, the whole group will be slowed down.

I attempt to punch her in her jaw but she clasps my wrist and twists it sideways. I cringe and quickly pull back. I don't think she recognises me. I should really try to avoid using my magic, otherwise she'll recognise me instantly, and I don't want that just yet.

I grab her shoulders and push her firmly back, which causes her to fall. I'm stronger than her even without the Orb. I grab out the knife I needed earlier from my pocket and watch as her eyes widen with fear. Peter, Drax and Groot are too busy fighting their own battles at this moment and are too distracted to notice Alenna's distress. I walk towards her helpless form, gripping the knife tighter.

Then out of nowhere, she kicks me. In between the legs.

I drop the knife and she smirks, laughing a little. She jumps back up and kicks my knife far away. Her smirk is replaced by an angry frown. She pushes me against the wall furiously.

"Where is Ronan?" she asks furiously.

"I do not know." I tell her truthfully. The mask makes my voice more mechanical, but it can only take me so far. Alenna is my sister and would be able to recognise me in a heartbeat.

"Don't lie to me!" she yells and pulls a large threatening gun to my face.

"Alenna, I don't know!" I yell back, and push her away from me.

Her anger evaporates as quickly as it had come. She tilts her head at me strangely. Shit. I accidently called her by her name.

"Excuse me?" she arches an eyebrow.

Think Cassius, think.

I kick at her knee, which causes her to groan and sink to the floor. I didn't exactly expect her to pull me down with her. She rolls over on top of me, with her gun still in hand.

"Get. Off. Me." I say through gritted teeth.

"Who are you?!" She ignores my command and raises her gun to my chest.

"As if you'd shoot." I say, with a smirk behind my mask.

Keeping eye contact, she aims her gun down to my foot and pulls the trigger with a loud bang. Then she pulls the gun back up to aim it at my chest again. I shout a string of nasty words, feeling the blood already pool. It felt like someone had stuck a giant needle inside of my foot.

"I will shoot you again if I have to! Now tell me, who the fuck are you?" she shouts in my face, pushing the gun harder into my chest.

I don't respond to her.

Her eyes flit towards the edge of my mechanic mask and she somehow figures out what to do. She presses down on the button near my ear, and in an instant the mask folds back away from my face.

A gasp emerges from her lips and her eyes flutter frantically. A mixture of emotions is shown through her face; first shock, happiness, anger and then misery.

"Cassius…How could you…" she whispers quietly, searching my eyes for an answer.

I glare and push her off of me, then quickly get up, limping slightly. That gun is more powerful than I had expected. "Oh, don't act so surprised Alenna!" I hiss at her harshly.

She gets up herself, anger instantly flaring up in her eyes once more. "You're my brother. I don't understand, Cassius!"

"You see but that's the thing. You never understand. You've always played out Miss Innocent all the time, gaining the most attention from Mom and Dad!"

"What?! Everyone likes _you_ better because you're the one with a big brain and magic. The thing I don't understand is how you could betray me like that!"

I smirk at her, knowing that it would set her off. She growls and clenches her fist.

"I was the only one who believed you weren't with Ronan, but now I see how right they all were. You were my brother! Now you're nothing more than a mere slither of worthlessness. I trusted you! I cared for you! I always hoped that you remained healthy, happy, and strong. And this is how you repay me?! This! Stealing the Orb, joining Thanos, and attacking me. You are nothing to me anymore. You've lost all my trust."

I take a moment to soak in all her words and force myself to think nothing of it. She's a girl; she'll get over it in a few days the most. And why do I care anyway? I don't need her.

"We are all going to be dead if Ronan has that Orb." I tell her.

"Exactly. So join me, and we can stop Ronan together." She says softly with hope behind her angry looking eyes. "Please."

I stare at her for a moment before frowning and shaking my head. "No!" I yell at her.

She flares up again, "We need to get back to our time. How are we supposed to do that, Cassius?!"

I stare at her.

"I've always had the Infinity Stone of Time with me." I say quietly.

* * *

><p><strong>A bit of a gritty and shocking chapter, I hope you all don't mind. Alenna is going to get real mad. As in scary-mad. Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows so far. I really appreciate it!<strong>

**What do you think of Cassius so far? Alenna? Will they ever get back?**


	10. Chapter Ten

_Alenna's POV_

"Alenna!" Peter calls out to me.

I quickly take a step out of the interesting looking room and look back to Peter with a cheesy grin. He sighs at me, and I walk back to the small group. This ship is so large and interesting, so many things to explore. Although I should really focus and concentrate on what I'm doing. We need to find Ronan, and we need to find my brother. I can only hope he is okay.

"Sorry." I mumble to the group with my head lowered. They still somehow manage to act very protective of me, even if they think we are not related.

"Dude, you're gonna get yourself kidnapped or something if you keep running around this ship like it's some big carnival!" Peter tells me.

I frown a little and mouth the strange word, 'carnival'.

He pulls me along and the two of us, including Drax and Groot, break into a run. We all skid as we realise there are predators in front of us. They are a small group of Sakaarans, and a man who I believe is Korath the Purser. I narrow my eyes, and know that this is not going to end well.

"Star-Lord." Korath growls.

"Finally." Peter says with a grin.

A Sakaaran solider lungs for me and I fall to the floor, using my foot to kick him away just before he could attack. I roll over to my back and skilfully flip back up. The solider advances at me once more. I'm beginning to get agitated. I grab his neck and punch him in the jaw as hard as I possibly can. He falls back to floor. A tingling feeling flutters throughout my hand.

"Ow. Oh, punching someone hurts more than getting punched." I groan and shake my hand out.

Peter knocks one solider out with his gun and he looks to me with an alarmed expression, "To your right!" he shouts.

I instantly look to my right with wide eyes and duck under the soldier's swing who had come back for revenge. I kick him in the head, and he drops to the floor. This time I believe he won't be getting up. I turn to thank Peter but he has been thrown back to the wall by Korath. I gasp and attempt to make a move to help but Drax has already taken care of that.

"You will never reach Ronan." Korath growls at Drax.

Suddenly a metallic masked man tries to punch me in the face, but I react quickly by grabbing his wrist and forcefully twisting it to the right. He groans in pain and quickly withdrawals. There are too many things going on and its driving me crazy. The mysterious masked figure grabs my shoulders and pushes me back to the floor. He is strong, and I do not know what species he is. Then he reveals a knife from his pocket and I widen my eyes. Peter, Drax and Groot are too busy to save my ass.

Think fast.

I kick him where the sun don't shine and stifle a laugh as he drops the knife. Then I get up and kick the knife as far as possible. What's he going to do now? I can easily outwit him with skill, even if he is stronger.

I push my attacker back to the wall and frown furiously, "Where is Ronan?" I ask.

"I don't know." He answers coolly with a strange mechanical voice.

"Don't lie to me!" I yell and pull one of my guns to his face.

"Alenna, I don't know!" he shouts.

My face falls, and I slowly drop the gun to my side. How can he know my name? I never said it, did I? And how would he be able to find out about me if I don't exist in this time period? Many questions are whirling around my brain as I try and comprehend this situation.

"Excuse me?" I ask quietly and tilt my head.

He quickly kicks me in the kneecap and I groan, slowly sinking to the floor but manage to pull him down with me. I roll over on top of him and raise the gun to his chest threateningly.

"Get. Off. Me." He orders through gritted teeth, but I ignore him.

"Who are you?!" I yell.

He looks down to the gun planted on his chest and looks back up to me, "As if you'd shoot." He says teasingly. That is my breaking point.

I glare at him through the mask and shoot down at his foot, aiming the gun back up to his chest. He groans and begins to swear at me. I have never done anything like this before. "I will shoot again if I have to! Now tell me, who the fuck are you?" I ask for the final time and press the gun harder into his chest as an emphasis.

He still doesn't respond, and I'm beginning to get real angry.

My eyes flit towards the edges of his mask and I realise they look similar to Peter's mask. There's some button programmed to remove the mask almost instantly. There. I press the small grey button next to his ear and the mask unfolds to reveal his identity.

Cassius?!

I gasp and blink furiously. I've never been so shocked in my life. He's alive and seemingly healthy. But how dare he do this! My own brother…

"Cassius…How could you…" I struggle to speak the words.

He glares and roughly pushes my body off of his. He gets up, limping slightly, from the wound I had created on his foot. "Oh, don't act so surprised Alenna!" he hisses and I slowly frown, getting up myself.

"You're my brother. I don't understand, Cassius!" I yell angrily.

"You see but that's the thing. You never understand. You've always played out Miss Innocent all the time, gaining the most attention from Mom and Dad!" Cassius shouts back at me.

"What?! Everyone likes you better because you're the one with a big brain and magic. The thing I don't understand is how you could betray me like that!" I say, feeling slightly hurt. He's always been more favoured in the family because he is more talented than I am. Is this is what it's all about? Sibling rivalry? It can't be.

Then he smirks at me. He knows that pisses me off, and makes me so much angrier. I growl and clench my fists tightly.

"I was the only one who believed you weren't with Ronan, but now I see how right they all were. You were my brother! Now you're nothing more than a mere slither of worthlessness. I trusted you! I cared for you! I always hoped that you remained healthy, happy, and strong. And this is how you repay me?! This! Stealing the Orb, joining Thanos, and attacking me. You are nothing to me anymore. You've lost all my trust." I say without regretting it. I've just lost my brother.

He pauses for a moment and stares at me with no emotion, as if he is unaffected and unfazed my words. "We are all going to be dead if Ronan has that Orb." Is the only thing he has to say.

"Exactly. So join me, and we can stop Ronan together." I try to tell him with a softer tone. "Please."

He continues to stare at me before slowly shaking his head and refusing.

I frown again, "We need to get back to our time. How are we supposed to do that, Cassius?!"

There is a short silence before he answers.

"I've always had the Infinity Stone of Time with me." He answers quietly.

It's like time itself freezes. My body goes rigid and I stop breathing to stare at him with no emotion. Did I hear correctly?

"What did you say?" I ask to confirm that I'm right, and not going completely insane.

He sighs and looks down to the floor, then back up at me. "I've had the Infinity Stone for the whole time we have been stuck here." He repeats slowly and clearly so this time I know for sure that he has said what I heard.

My dark fiery eyes pierce his skin with extreme anger and tear apart his soul, if only looks could kill.

"You what?" I question quietly and dangerously, although I have heard him perfectly fine.

A smirk appears on his face as he grabs something out from his pocket. A glowing yellow stone, the exact stone we had discovered back on Meredith's ship. The exact Stone that I have been looking for to save us. And _he_ was the one who had it this whole time. He told me that the Stone spawns somewhere randomly after use, and I believed him. What a fool I was!

Cassius puts the Stone back into his pocket, and turns to me with a pointed look. "I've been trying to get my hands on these Stones for years, and when we discovered Meredith's Stone I had to take it." He tells me, as if it were a causal topic.

I shake my head slowly with disbelief. Is this really my brother? The Cassius I know will only go as far as playing out petty pranks. He was always smiling instead of smirking, and he was the one who told me 'violence is never the answer'. Cassius always was so protective of me, but now what has happened to my twin brother? Why is he so delusional? And why are his eyes purple?

It took a few moments for me to fit everything together, and then it clicked in place. It's the Orb. He has used the Orb.

He seems to have noticed my recognition and takes a step backward.

"Cassius!" I yell and run towards him. He simply moves out the way, but as I turn back he has disappeared. I quickly turn the other way and he is not there either. Of course –magic.

I needed to get Cassius to wake up and realize what he's doing. The Orb is playing with his mind, and I'm sure Thanos isn't helping much either. I need to get the Stones back, within the right hands. But I'm going to need some help…

I look over towards my family. Groot is growling as he stretches his wooden arm through numerous predators and bangs them against each wall. They all seem to be dead in a matter of seconds, and he turns back with a huge grin on his face. I raise my eyebrows at him.

Peter turns to me with his mask on, and I shiver, noticing how much it reminded me of Cassius. "Alenna…" he says and doesn't say much more. They must have heard what was going on with Cassius and I.

"What do you want?" I ask lightly but don't meet their eyes, and study the carvings in the floor.

"The truth." Peter responds.

I bite down on my tongue and take a deep breath. I really would like to tell them but would it effect the future? I still don't know how this time thingy works, and I don't know if I am able to believe Cassius's conclusions after what he had done to me. Then again, I think I should tell them. If I know their secrets they should know mine, and I need all the help I can get to bring Cassius down.

I look back up to them and take another breath. How do I begin this exactly?

"I'm your daughter." I blurt out. "From the future."

Peter takes a step back and even though I can't see his facial expression behind his mask I know is confused, shocked, and utterly stunned. He laughs nervously, "What?"

"Cassius is my twin brother. We are actually sixteen years old. And you're my father. We traveled back here accidentally to a time where we didn't exist, with your mother's Infinity Stone."

Peter now takes his mask off and frowns me, flinching at the mention of his mother. "My mom is dead. I don't know what you're trying to pull off here but it isn't working."

I groan and mould my face into my hands. I had almost forgotten all the explaining that's needed with this situation. I look up and shake my head, "You'll find out about it in future, okay? But for now, I just need you to believe what I am telling you!" I plead desperately.

Peter, Drax, and Groot look equally disbelieving but continue to listen anyway.

"Cassius has taken two of the Infinity Stones." I start off and Drax scowls.

"Two?" he questions.

"Yes, two. The Infinity Stone of Time, and the Orb. I only need the Time Stone, you can take the Orb and do what's right. I can believe you will all be able to make the correct decisions considering you have in the past…future…whatever. You get what I mean."

They are all silent for a few moments, staring at me as if trying to work out if I was lying or not. I hold my breath and bite my tongue, yet they still remain silent. Do they believe me?

"Are you in?" I ask finally and they all look at each other, then back to me.

Groot of course is the first to give in, "I am Groot." He says warmly with a smile, and I smile back.

"I am more than happy to help my future friend, Alenna." Drax joins in.

"Niece." I correct lightly, and Drax smiles. He looks pleased to have me as a niece. I look over to my father who still looks shocked and confused.

"Peter? " I ask.

"One question first - Do you know who your mother is?" he wonders slowly, looking at me up and down as if properly noticing me for the first time. Drax and Groot also seem interested in the answer, and I sigh at them all. They're going to be a little surprised. Or a lot.

"Gamora." I say quietly.

"Gamora?!" Peter raises his eyebrows.

"Why would Gamora reproduce with this buffoon?" Drax refers to Peter.

"Don't say it like that!" Peter slaps Drax's arm, and Drax looks offended at his gesture.

"I am Groot."

Peter looks up to Groot, "No one can understand you!" he shouts slowly.

Groot frowns down at Peter and grunts in disapproval.

"Yeah, Mom is Gamora. You were always kissing, it was so gross." I add and shiver at the memories I walked in on them making out.

"So pelvis sorcery does actually work." Peter nods to himself and looks in the distance.

I raise a brow and tilt my head, "What?"

"Nothing." Peter dismisses quickly. I sigh and shake my head at his strange behavior.

Suddenly, the floor beneath our feet shifts and rocks back and forth, indicating that the ship is swaying and almost loosing control. The axis then returns to normal and I gasp in relief. There must have been an explosion somewhere on the ship. This brings me back to the reality, "C'mon! We need to do this before it's too late!"

"Okay, _daughter_." Peter smirks and nudges me and I close my eyes, "Please don't do that ever again. For now I am Alenna, okay?" I say and open my eyes. He nods but is still smirking, and I roll my eyes. All I need is to be treated like a kid again.

We all begin running into the hallway be intended to go through before we were attacked. There are a few guards lying on the floor with crimson or ivy colored pools of blood underneath them. If I was a Cassius, where would I go?

"I still can't believe that Gamora…" Peter goes on while we continue to run.

"Let it go. Please for the love of Xandar – Let. It. Go." I instruct and he chuckles lightly.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey! So, so sorry for taking a little while to post this chapter. I just have exams to study for, and was busy with my fourteenth birthday and all. So I do apologize for that. The next chapter will be a lot better. Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, follows! And thank you for reading!<strong>

**What do you think will happen in the next chapter? How will they get the Infinity Stones back? And will the twins ever return back to the future?**


	11. Chapter Eleven

_Cassius's POV_

"Cassius!" Alenna screams my name with dangerous anger flashing through her dark eyes. I quickly side step away from her outraged bolt with widened eyes and a fast beating heart. Before she turns, I dispel my appearance under a simple invisibility spell.

She obviously doesn't see me, and looks incredibly confused and flustered at first until the realisation hits her petty brain. She sighs and mutters something under her breath and I smirk. Alenna will never be able to outwit my sorcery.

I turn towards the hallway, running quickly and being cautious not to make too much noise. There are guards lying on the floor with largely open wounds and oddly bended bones caused by punishments from either Nebula or Ronan. That could have happened to me.

I move along at an even quicker pace, recalling the turns that I had made from the main hall where Ronan almost killed me. I need that Orb. I don't even know why anymore, it's like a fatal attraction. Then again I still do crave the power, subjugation, and protection of Thanos.

I halt as I finally reach the hall, spotting Ronan standing in front of the grand glass window. Outside the window were thousands of Nova Corp ships conjoined to form a protective yellow barrier to prevent Ronan and his armies from harming Xandar and any of its people.

I fall into focus and realise Ronan is addressing Nova through audio connection, threatening them.

"'Tis the tinder on which you burn!" Is what I hear clearly and Ronan raises his Kree war hammer to the glass threateningly, the purple aura of the Orb quickly charging up. Then in an instant, a power shot blasts through the glass and through the wall of Nova ships.

The lash sends vibrations through the warship as a terrible aftershock, and glass is being spluttered absolutely everywhere – which isn't exactly bothering Ronan. I duck behind a wall to avoid the shower of glass shards, and Ronan noticing me here. Then I realise that I am still invisible and he can't possibly see me.

I can feel the explosions going on even outside the ship. That hammer is one powerful thing. Then suddenly, I can't keep my balance and feel myself sliding down into the small hallway I had just come from.

"Whoa…" I mummer and finally straighten up even though the floor is still vibrating.

What is going on?! We may be falling out of the sky right now. I need to get out of here, and then find Ronan.

I dismiss the invisibility spell and find a door further ahead. It automatically opens when I come near, and reveals a dark gloomy room filled with either escaping prisoners or angered guards. The other half of the room is bright and windy, complete with no walls. One wrong step and you'd be taking the leap of death down to Xandar. The damage must have been caused by one of the recent explosions. Surely there must be a proper exit somewhere around –

It's Alenna again, with none of her team mates to accompany her.

She stops fighting off ballistic prisoners and notices me with a hard glare. The wind from the other half of the room dances around her hair, and blows through the maroon jacket she wears. She doesn't say anything. She just stares at me with those dark narrowed eyes and has a fierce looking gun in hand.

"Alenna." I smirk and walk forward.

"Cassius." She mumbles back, gripping the gun tighter.

"We both know what's going to happen now. Or do I need to explain it for you? Are you still that dull?" I question her with a bright smirk.

That's how the fight begins.

She attempts to whack a gun over my head. I duck and jump back up, then grab her by the collar. Her eyes show no sign of fear, just pure anger. That's different. I throw her to the wall, and she lands with a thud but no groan.

"Cassius, the Orb is playing with your mind!" she shouts out to me, desperately.

I walk towards her, ignoring her words as best as I can. "It's too late now! The Infinity Gems shall be conquered."

Alenna grabs her gun and shoots at my leg, which I'm merely affected by. She lunges back up towards me with a clenched fist and punches me in the jaw. I stagger back, and bang my head on to the wall. I groan and grip where my head was hit. Her punch didn't hurt at all, it was just that bang on the head. My vision impairs for a few seconds.

I frown and conjure a holographic knife in my hand. I raise it above my head and force in it her direction, but she stops the lash with that ridiculous gun. I try to hit her again but she keeps blocking my hits.

"You know, it's not too late to turn back." She tells me, becoming breathless throughout the fight.

"Never." I reply back and knock the gun out of her hands. It skids across the floor and flies off the edge of the ship. I abate the knife from my hands and watch the spot where her gun once was.

We stop fighting for a quick moment and she looks at me with a shocked look on her face. "That was my favourite gun." she tells me.

"Was the RH078 one?" I raise a brow.

"Prototype." She nods her head in confirmation.

We both just stand there for few more seconds, silent and motionless. And then we just start fighting again. She pushes me to the floor with all her force and I fall to my back. She is strong…for a girl. She runs towards me now with one of her daggers, and I kick her hand but she doesn't let go of it this time. We are dangerously close to the edge of the ship.

I quickly rise to my feet in a mad scramble, and dodge her swings. This is starting to get annoying, we are only wasting time. The ship could crash any minute now.

I push her back, she slips over the edge of the ship and I hear her yell. For some reason I gasp. Alenna? I slowly make my way to the edge of the ship to see where she had fallen and how far we were from the ground. I find her clinging on to the rubble with one hand. She looks desperate and pleading.

"Cassius, please." She says quietly, with wide eyes. "Help me."

I look down at her, expressionless, and recall all the times she hasn't helped me. All the times she insulted me and ignored me. But does she really deserve to fall to her doom?

I gradually sink down to her level and her eyes widen in shock for a minute. A smirk appears on my face and I tilt my head, "What makes you think that I would ever help you?" I ask. She opens her mouth to say something convincing, but I kick I stomp down on her hand. Her fingers slip and she yells, continuing to fall through the space and all the war.

I decide to watch her fall. Unexpectantly, the Milano swoops under her and she lands on the glass screen with a heavy thud.

I narrow my eyes and rise to my full height. I still needed to find a proper exit.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the long wait and shorter chapter! I had to re-write this chapter a few times and I'm still not happy with it. Next chapter, there may be some signs of recovery from Cassius's end. Thank you all for the follows, reads, and reviews! I will be posting ASAP! <strong>


End file.
